My life My love
by strawberrys13
Summary: It's the final year of Hogwarts and it's more complicated than ever! Hermione Granger, the brains of the 'golden trio', finds herself tangled in a mess with the one and only…Draco Malfoy.
1. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, everything you recognise belongs to J.K Rowling.**_

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><p>Hermione sat up in the spare bed in Ginny Weasley's small yet comfortable room, she looked at her watch and it was just past four in the morning. She quickly dug in her bag and with a happy smile she ran her fingers down the cover of 'Pride and Prejudice'.<p>

"Nothing beats Muggle books," said Hermione quietly, taking care that she didn't wake Ginny.

Hermione took her wand and whispered, "_Lumos_."

A bright beam of light erupted from the tip of her wand; Ginny flinched slightly but turned to her side away from the light.

Hermione's eyes quickly skimmed through the pages, her mind filled with the sweet yet insulting first proposal of Mr. Darcy to Elizabeth. Her favourite part was when Elizabeth declined Mr. Darcy's proposal.

"You tell him," Hermione quietly cheered, even though she'd read the book at least thirty times. She didn't know why she'd read it so many times, she guessed that deep down she wanted to live Mr. Darcy's and Elizabeth's romance. To despise someone so much and then eventually grow a profound love for them. It was Hermione's dream romance.

She continued on reading till Ginny stirred and yawned again, the red haired girl rubbed her eyes and looked at her friend.

"My god, you're reading that _again_?" Ginny exclaimed. "Is that Muggle book _that_ good?"

Hermione smiled. "I can lend it to you if you want, I'm almost finished."

Ginny got up out of bed and shrugged her brand new dressing gown on; it was a present from Harry…her boyfriend.

"You woke up early to read didn't you?" Ginny guessed correctly. "You know, I used to think Ron was joking about your abnormal reading habits."

Hermione scowled. "I'm sure whatever Ronald has told you has probably just been highly exaggerated. I just couldn't sleep so I chose to read."

Ginny sighed at the mention of her brother. "How are you two doing anyway?"

Hermione looked away. She and Ron had tried to date, the key word being 'tried', Ron was too laid back and Hermione…well…she wasn't. She'd realised that she enjoyed the idea of her and Ron being together more than _actually_ being together and once they were, she didn't feel right…like they didn't connect. Sure the kiss they'd shared during the war at Hogwarts last year had been exciting and thrilling, but there was never the feeling of love. Never that sense of right or the little voice that said 'he is the one'.

So a month ago, Hermione decided to end things. Of course Ron didn't understand her reasons but he respected them, the two have hardly ever talked since.

Hermione put her book aside. "If he'd grow a pair of balls and man up, we could get past this awkwardness and go back to what we were. Dating your best friend and then breaking up sucks," Hermione complained.

Although she didn't love Ron as a man, she loved him as brother. She saw both Ron and Harry as her brothers, and she now wished that she'd realised earlier that her and Ron were never meant to be.

Ginny passed a sympathetic look to her. "I'm sure he will 'mione. Right, I'm going to go and wash up before breakfast. If Harry sees me in this state I think I'll die of embarrassment."

"You know Harry thinks you're beautiful," Hermione told her but Ginny rolled her eyes.

"Of course he'd say that," Ginny said before leaving the room to shower. Hermione decided to pick out her clothes for the day; she stared at the slanted mirror that hung on the wall.

She lifted her hand and touched the faint scar that marred her neck, as soon as her cool fingers touched it the horrifying memories of being at Malfoy Manor flooded into her mind. Hermione had never felt so much pain in her life, the Cruciatus Curse felt like it was ripping her insides out.

She shivered and let her hand drop back down to her side. Hermione took steady, deep breaths to calm herself. But she couldn't stop thinking of the empty cold blue eyes that watched her suffer, the blue eyes that belonged to Draco Malfoy.

"Hermione?"

She wheeled around to face Harry whose hair stuck up in odd places as usual.

"Ginny's in the shower," she told him.

"Actually she's downstairs helping with breakfast. She asked me to tell you that the bathroom's free if you want to use it."

She gave him a smile. "Thanks Harry."

"Breakfast is in an hour, Mr. Weasley insisted that Mrs. Weasley cook it 'Muggle style'. So I think we're going to be roped in to help," Harry warned jokingly. Hermione gave a hearty chuckle; her eyes flickered to her Hogwarts trunk. On top of it were her Hogwarts letter and a shiny badge.

If she stepped closer she'd be able to clearly read the words 'Head Girl' written in an elegant gold script on the badge.

"I can't believe we're going back to Hogwarts tomorrow," Hermione said quietly to Harry. He walked towards her and gave her a hug.

"Are you excited, _Head girl_?"

Hermione giggled.

Harry, Ron and herself had received a letter from Professor McGonagall (who was the new head teacher) inviting them back to Hogwarts since they spent their 7th year searching for the Horcruxes. Apparently, this was an opportunity for those who missed their 7th year last year. It was pretty much everyone from the trio's year, since they were under the schooling for the Death Eater's.

"Do you think we should go back?" Harry asked his two best friends the night they received the letter several months ago. "I mean…do you think we should go back, after everything that happened there?"

Harry looked especially at Ron, who's older brother Fred died during the war.

Ron seemed casual as he lounged back in the seat. "Nah, there's no point going back. I mean we've probably done way more than a lot of the adults out there. We were after Voldemort's horcruxes for Christ sakes!"

Hermione lifted her chin. "Well I think we _should_ go back, nothing like an official certificate to impress our employers even more. What if we want to work in the Muggle world?"

"She does have a point," Harry agreed. "Besides, if we go back to school I can hang around with Ginny more."

Hermione giggled. "Harry, that's only an advantage for _you_."

Harry grinned and looked at Ron. "I think it's safe to say that Hermione and I are going back to school, care to join us Ronald?" Harry asked sarcastically.

Ron sighed. "I might as well, we aren't the 'golden trio' if Ron Weasley isn't there."

The three of them laughed. And it was the next day that Hermione had been told she would be Head Girl, she'd boasted about her new status and shoved her shiny badge in Harry's and Ron's faces.

Even to present day, Hermione was still unsure who Head Boy was. She just hoped it wouldn't be anyone she disliked or someone who slacked off.

Harry went back downstairs and Hermione went to the bathroom to wash. When she was done she picked up her wand and cast a hair drying spell that made her hair dry soft and slick. She'd finally lost the bushy mane that was her hair and found a spell that made her wild curls into softer ones, which framed her face wonderfully. She looked sophisticated and grown up, perfect qualities Head Girl should possess.

She hurried downstairs to find the kitchen in a total mess. Though The Burrow was small it held that 'homely' feel that she loved, it made her feel as if she was back home with her own mother and father.

"Thank goodness you've come Hermione!" Molly Weasley panted. "We need your help! Arthur has taken our wands off us, making us cook the Muggle way!"

Ginny was by the kitchen counter covered in flour, Hermione slipped on an apron and stood beside her.

"What the hell is that?" she yelped at Ginny's unpleasant concoction in the bowl.

She frowned. "It's supposed to be a pancake mix, why is it not edible?"

Hermione laughed. "If you eat this, you'd be doing time at St. Mungo's."

Ginny glared at her friend. "I grew up using wands and spells not…what do Muggle's use to cook with anyway?"

Hermione rolled her eyes and pushed the sleeves of her shirt up, sighing happily. "Right let's get cooking."

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><p>~ Malfoy Manor ~<p>

The Malfoy Manor was not a pleasant place, not that it wasn't grand or extravagant but it was cold, empty and lifeless. The dim corridors were daunting and the winding marble staircase that led up a level to the bedrooms seemed to go on forever.

The door at the end of the top level was opened slightly and inside was a large and luxurious bedroom, the walls were painted a luminous white and the floor was covered with a thick and soft black carpet that looked expensive. The room had minimal furniture inside and the king sized bed contained only one body. Draco Malfoy.

He was shirtless with his left arm behind his head; his alabaster skin set a wonderful contrast to the black silk bed covers. His arms and torso was lined with defined muscles giving him that sex appeal. His natural platinum blonde hair had grown over the summer making it fall into his eyes in a stylish 'bad boy' way. His pale blue eyes were once again empty as they stared up at the ceiling.

A knock sounded.

"Draco?" Narcissa called. "May I come in?"

She didn't wait for a reply; she entered Draco's room anyway.

"Yes mother?"

She sat down on the end of his bed. "_Accio_ shirt," she said and waved her wand. A drawer flew open and a shirt danced towards her waiting hands, she passed it to her son. Even though he was almost 18, she still treated him as if he were 8 years old.

Despite hating the way his mother babied him, he took the shirt from her. "Thank you."

"I had the elves fetch you your new school books, and a new set of robes."

Draco sighed as he buttoned up his shirt. "What's the point mother? No one in their right mind would ever want a Malfoy working for them, not with father in Azkaban. There's no need to go back to school."

That was a lie. Draco missed the socialising, the gossiping, the annoying first years. Hell, he even missed Pansy Parkinson!

Narcissa put a bony but well manicured hand on his shoulder. "We need to forget the past Draco, the Dark Lord has fallen and we're free from worry of death. The Death Eater's have been put into Azkaban and though I weep every night that your father is not by my side, I rejoice that they did not take you as well."

She kissed his cheek and he stood emotionlessly.

Narcissa sighed. "Please, no trouble this year at school Draco. Enjoy it, have the life you should have had."

And with those words she left his room, Draco went to his window which were draped with black velvet curtains. He had a thing for black. The windows in his room were from the top of his ceiling to the bottom of his floor allowing natural light into his room, but the atmosphere remained dark and solemn.

Draco took out the letter from his pocket asking him if he wished to return to Hogwarts.

He ran his hand over his face. "Sod it. I'm going back to Hogwarts; I wonder what this year has in store for me?"

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><p><em><strong>I have posted this story on another Harry Potter fanfic site under the username HP_pencil, so I am definitely not plagiarizing a story. <strong>_

_**But I hope you like the first chapter :D Let me know what you think! Please review!**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, everything you recognise belongs to J.K Rowling **_

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><p>"Ron will you hurry!" Molly shouted at her son, it was 10:45 and everyone needed to be on platform 9 and ¾ by 11:00. Ron and Harry have had experience in missing the train in their 2nd year…it was not a fun.<p>

Ron yawned as he clumsily dragged his trunk down the stairs. "Yeah, yeah I'm coming. Honestly mum, you need to learn to calm down."

Molly sent him a glare. "Watch your tongue with me Ronald Bilius Weasley."

She didn't need to elaborate; Ron was frightened of his mother even if he refused to admit it. Changing her attitude quicker than the weather, Molly turned away from her son and gave Harry a kiss on the cheek and hugged both Ginny and Hermione.

"Now you four do well at school. There won't be any trouble this year will there?"

"No," they all said simultaneously. Arthur Weasley clapped his hands together.

"Right kids, let's get going."

And one by one they all apparated to platform 9 and ¾, Hermione blinked a little as the familiar suffocating squeeze of apparating consumed her. However, it was becoming more bearable with time.

Hermione and the Weasley's apparated fine but Harry had splinched his glasses.

"Shit," Harry cursed. He was literally blind without them but Ginny smiled and pulled out a spare pair from her hand bag.

"Here you go, I thought you might need it," she said handing it over to him. Harry put them on and gave her a thankful smile before kissing her sweetly on the lips. The others had sense to look away, giving them some privacy.

"I love you."

"I love you too."

Ron coughed. "I hate to break the romance but 1. She's still my sister Harry and 2. The train is leaving in 1 minute and we still need to find a good carriage."

"Right, give me one last kiss," Molly hurriedly said. They all hugged and kissed her and shook hands with Arthur and then boarded the train.

Hermione lagged behind the group. "Guys, I have to go to the Head's Compartment. I'll settle down there first and I'll find you all later."

Despite the fact that Ron and Hermione broke up, Ron still felt the need to look out for her. Which could be inconvenient for Hermione at times.

"Are you sure you want to go by yourself?" Ron asked. "I can come with you."

Hermione shook her head. "No it's fine, like I said; I'll find you all later."

He nodded his head disappointedly. "Okay see you."

They all separated. As Hermione walked down carriage after carriage she felt people's eyes on her, watching her every movement. People leaned in to whisper loudly 'That's Hermione Granger, best friend of Ron Weasley and Harry Potter! She's part of the 'golden trio''.

Hermione choked back a moan of despair and embarrassment. She finally understood how Harry felt. The attention seemed to increase as people noticed the Head Girl badge that rested on the middle of her chest; though she'd grown out of changing into her uniform earlier than necessary she wanted everyone to see that she was Head Girl. It was a status that gave her instant authority, but Hermione knew better than to misuse it. It was her dream to be Head Girl but she didn't think it would earn her _this_ much attention.

Finally reaching the Head's Compartment she opened the door struggling a little since her trunk made it difficult, when suddenly a hand reached out to help, she gasped and looked up.

"M-McLaggen?"

Cormac gave her a greasy grin. "My sweet Granger, allow me to help you."

He made a show of opening the sliding door and insisting he take her trunk. Hermione had to catch herself from slapping him across the face. The nerve of this guy!

"Thanks McLaggen but I can take it from here," Hermione said with more venom in her voice than intended, Cormac finally let go and lounged back in the seat. Hermione stared dubiously at him.

"Why the heated gaze my sweet Granger?" Cormac drawled disgustingly.

Hermione took a deep breath, chanting in her mind over and over that violence is bad. Who was Cormac to be calling her 'my sweet Granger' anyway?

"Nothing McLaggen, I was just wondering when Head Boy was arriving."

Cormac stood up and stepped dangerously close to her. "Granger did you not know?"

"Know what?"

He leaned in, so his white teeth (which had been obviously spelled to look that white) gleamed. "I _am_ Head Boy."

Hermione's anger overshadowed her shock. "What?"

"McGonagall wrote me a letter saying I was Head Boy, she even told me you would be Head Girl Granger. Were you not told?"

Of course she wasn't told! If she was then she would have turned down the position of Head Girl in a heartbeat.

Hermione clenched her hands into tight fists, she didn't know Professor McGonagall was this sneaky. "No I wasn't. Honestly speaking, I didn't expect it to be you McLaggen."

Give her Neville, give her Ernie Macmillan. Anyone but the buffoon Cormac McLaggen. Ever since 6th year, Cormac has had a thing for Hermione, especially since she invited him to Slughorn's party. Cormac had it in his mind that Hermione Granger had the 'hots' for him.

Cormac smirked. "Let us drop the last names. From now on it's Cormac and I will now call you Hermione."

_Please don't_, Hermione thought. If people heard that they were on a first name basis, they might get the wrong impression. Cormac put his feet up on the seat and grinned at her.

"So my love how was your summer?"

Hermione gave him a strained smile. "It was good thank you. Sorry to be rude…Cormac," Hermione internally cringed at using his first name. "I promised my friends I'll find them after I find the Head's Compartment."

Cormac winked at her. "You mean 'our' compartment."

_Ew!_

"Y-Yeah. I'll be back soon."

"Hurry back my sweet Hermione."

Hermione waved and rushed out of the compartment practically sprinting down the corridor. She frantically searched for the messy black hair or the flaming red haired Weasley's, luckily; she spotted them in no time.

She stomped next to Harry. "Oh my fucking god, Cormac McLaggen is _Head boy_!"

The three jumped as she cursed in a deadly whisper, some people turned around but they didn't seem to hear what Hermione had said. Ginny moved closer to Harry so Hermione could sit down.

Ron leaned in. "McLaggen is Head Boy?"

"How the hell did this happen?" Hermione whined. "I'll have to share a dorm with him all year; I'm going to lose the will to live. I'll actually begin to hate school."

Ginny put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "McLaggen isn't _that_ bad."

Hermione scoffed. "Not bad? He keeps on calling me 'my sweet Hermione'. He wanted us to be on a first name basis. Oh why did Professor McGonagall choose him and not Harry?"

Ron coughed, hoping she would say his name too but she just glared at him.

"I think I'm going to ask if I can give the Head Girl title to someone else," Hermione said hopelessly. She didn't want to give it to someone else, it was her dream to become Head Girl…and she'd always thought Head Boy would be Harry or some amazingly smart Ravenclaw. Not Cormac McLaggen.

Harry handed her a piece of chocolate. "You can't do that Hermione. You're the only girl fit for the Head Girl position; don't let McLaggen ruin your dreams of becoming Head Girl."

Hermione bit into the chocolate deliberating for a moment. Harry was right; part of the reason as to why she wanted to do so much at school was because she had always wanted to be Head Girl. To have the dorm, the title, the authority.

"If you're strong enough to help me fight off Voldemort, you're strong enough to deal with McLaggen," Harry concluded. "Just don't do anything stupid like kill yourself," he jokingly added.

Hermione stood up and playfully glared at her best friend. "Haha, funny. I better get back before that idiot comes looking for me because I didn't 'hurry back'."

She talked off and the three laughed uncontrollably. They pitied Hermione but they were enjoying this new and feisty side to her, the last time Harry and Ron saw this side of her was when she punched Malfoy in their 3rd year. To see Hermione Granger pissed off was incredibly amusing.

Hermione trudged angrily back to the Head's Compartment but a 1st year student blocked her way. The 1st year student was a skinny 11 year old boy who resembled Neville Longbottom's clueless yet sweet face.

"M-Miss Granger, can I please have your autograph?" he asked quietly. Hermione's anger seemed to dissipate, she took the notebook and quill and quickly wrote a message.

"There's no need to call me Miss. Granger, please, call me Hermione."

The 1st year gave her a toothy smile and skipped away happily, Hermione continued to walk on, her steps were no longer furious marches. She saw Cormac picking his nose and she frowned but cleared her throat and stepped back inside. Cormac jumped and immediately wiped his finger on his trousers.

"Hermione, you've returned. Please do sit," he said as if he owned the place. Hermione hid her raised eyebrow. _This is my compartment too you twat!_

"So how are Potter and Weasley?"

"Harry and Ron," she corrected. "Are fine, they give you their congratulations on being Head Boy."

Cormac turned smug in an instant. "I bet Weasley would trade the Keeper position now eh?"

Hermione shook her head stiffly. "Nope, he seems pretty okay. Of course Harry is still the Quidditch captain."

Cormac snorted. "Of course, the great Potter. What did he do anyway?"

Hermione was shocked at the ignorant question. "Cormac…Harry defeated Voldemort, both the magic world and the Muggle world are free from him."

Cormac shrugged casually. "Oh yes, well I guess they didn't make him Head Boy since he already has too much fame. They should give this honourable title to someone handsome and brave, like me. You know, I fetched an ice pack for a 4th year when the Death Eater's were in charge at Hogwarts."

Hermione breathed back a snort. Did he expect her to applaud his so called bravery?

Cormac yawned and stood up, Hermione leaned back into the seat trying to get as far away from him as possible.

"I'm going to and get some food from the trolley," Cormac took Hermione's hand and planted a sloppy wet kiss on it. "Wait for me my sweet Hermione."

He left; Hermione gagged and wiped her hand. She took her wand out.

"_Aguamenti_," Hermione said and small jet of water spurted out from her wand and onto her hand. She quickly washed it. "There is no way I'm going to get used to Cormac McLaggen."

She waved her wand and said, "_Muffliato_."

She stood up and began to scream and shout; she kicked the seats, thumped her fists and said swear words no lady should say.

Draco Malfoy was coming back from the toilets when he walked past the Head's Compartment, he froze mid step when he saw Hermione Granger's face contorted into an expression of pure anger. She appeared to be shouting at the coat that was hung up but he couldn't hear what she was saying.

Cormac McLaggen who was rumoured to be Heady Boy wasn't in the compartment with her.

Draco knew he should have carried on walking but he had never seen Granger lose it quite like this, he leant against the wall and crossed his arms whilst an amused smile spread out across his lips. He couldn't help but think she looked adorable.

"Fucking disgusting-…" Hermione yelled and turned to throw Cormac's coat at the door but instead she found herself staring at piercing blue eyes. Blue eyes that have haunted her the past summer but they weren't empty, quite the opposite actually. They were full of amusement.

Draco Malfoy's lips parted into a breathy laugh and he walked away shaking his head, who knew that Draco Malfoy would laugh at something Hermione Granger did.

Hermione's eyes widened in shock and she fell back into the seat. "Oh no!"

She buried her head into Cormac's coat but when she realised what she was doing she threw it back to his side of the compartment.

"He must think I'm an idiot, on top of me being a Mudblood!"

Hermione wailed and huffed. "You know what, who cares what Malfoy thinks. I'm not going to let him get to me, I'm not going to think about the way he stood there and just watched me get tortured by his aunt. He's nothing to me."

"Hermione?"

She jumped as Cormac slid the door open.

"Oh, yes?"

"Did you cast a _Muffliato _spell?" he asked. "I couldn't hear what you were saying."

_Good_. She thought.

"Oh urm yeah, I was just practicing some spells," she lied smoothly.

Cormac took the lie and sat down opposite her, he apparently only got food for himself.

"Oh guess what I saw? Malfoy laughing, actually laughing! I think the world's going to end!" he joked.

Hermione gave half a smile. _Shit…he's still laughing at me? Fuck my life!_

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><p><em><strong>Hehe, poor Hermione! Hope you all liked it, please review! :D :D <strong>_

_**Oh, and I know that Draco has grey eyes in the book but when I picture Draco in my mind, I always picture Tom Felton's looks and I love his blue eyes! So, I'm sorry if you prefer Draco with grey eyes but I just had to use Tom's amazing blue ones..I mean in that in the least creepiest way possible...does that make sense? Oh well haha.**_

_**Enjoy! Review! **_


	3. Chapter 3

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, everything you recognise belongs to J.K Rowling.**_

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><p>The once exciting train journey to Hogwarts was now painful thanks to Cormac, Hermione had to put up with his incessant chatter about himself and she would have to nod every now and then to assure him she was still listening.<p>

"I just can't believe that Muggle girl turned me down in 5th year! Does she not know a handsome fellow when she sees one?"

Hermione grunted a response and when the platform came into view she sat up straighter. As the train rolled into the platform Hermione shot up off her seat and grabbed her trunk.

"Granger! Hermione!" Cormac called after her but she didn't look back.

"See you at the castle Cormac!" she shouted causing several students to look at her. Hermione had changed into her Hogwarts Gryffindor robes 15 minutes before arrival and her Head Girl badge surprisingly stood out more, students passed looks of respect towards her way.

She gave them all pleasant smiles. "First years, please follow Susan to the boats. We shall see you at the castle, please be careful and no one try to jump out of the boats."

The first years scuttled after Susan Bones, a Hufflepuff prefect. Hermione remembered her first year as if it only happened yesterday; she shivered at the memory of the troll in the girls toilets. The first real trouble the trio had gotten into.

"Hermione!" a dazed voice called her voice. She turned to see Luna Lovegood approaching her, though Luna was loony, Hermione considered her a dear friend and extremely interesting.

"Luna!" she squealed and hugged her friend.

"Hello Hermione. My father packed me an extra charm necklace to warn off the Nargles, if you want one I can give it to you."

Hermione had missed this girl's abnormal ways. "Perhaps later Luna."

"Don't say I didn't offer it to you sooner," Luna said with a smile. "Do you know where Harry is? I want to thank him for beating Voldemort."

"Luna!" Ginny called, behind her was Harry, Ron and Neville. Seamus and Dean were also stepping off the train.

"Harry!" Luna cried and skipped over to him. Hermione giggled but stopped immediately as Malfoy and his friends got off the train, Pansy Parkinson desperately clung to his arm but he seemed to be shrugging her off. Blaise Zabini and Crabbe and Goyle flanked Malfoy's side.

Malfoy walked past Harry and Ron without looking in their direction but when he passed Hermione, his eyes involuntarily flickered in her direction. And in that second ice blue eyes met warn brown ones.

Neither Draco nor Hermione could explain the unexpected rush that claimed both their bodies, Hermione had to look away from the intensity of his gaze.

Draco coughed and looked ahead, Pansy nudging him. "The Mudblood has returned Drakie along with the rest of the trio," she cooed annoyingly. "At least she will provide us some amusement."

Draco didn't answer her but deep down he didn't ever want to see Hermione shed a single tear; her terrified face at his Manor last year will haunt him for life.

Once the 1st years had been sorted into their houses Professor McGonagall gently tapped her glass to gain everyone's attention. It had been hard for the trio to come back to the Great Hall; Hermione could still see the faces of Remus and Tonks…Fred. She looked over at the Weasley siblings and knew that their thoughts were on the same track. Ginny looked like she was close to tears, Harry put an arm around her and squeezed her into his side as an act of comfort.

She noticed how Ron and Ginny didn't look completely comfortable in the Great Hall.

"I would like to take this time to remember those who fought at the War last year. Please join me as we quietly thank those who bravely gave their lives so ours can continue."

1…2…3 minutes of silence and McGonagall cleared her throat.

"Firstly, I welcome the 1st years to Hogwarts. I hope your time with us is enjoyable. Also welcome back to the rest. I would like to introduce to you your Head Boy and Girl this year, Hermione Granger and Cormac McLaggen from Gryffindor."

Hermione stood up with a faint blush that stained her cheeks, the Gryffindor table clapped loudly since the Head Boy and Girl were from their house. Cormac stupidly grinned and waved his hand arrogantly in the air.

The Slytherin table scowled and didn't clap or cheer as enthusiastically.

Hermione and Cormac sat down and McGonagall continued on with her speech.

"I would like to introduce the new Transfiguration teacher, Professor Byrne," McGonagall indicated to a man in his early thirties. He reminded Hermione of an older Neville – personality wise – since Professor Byrne waved shyly to the students, but in terms of looks…well let's say he's going to have a few admirers.

"Enjoy your meal everyone," McGonagall finally said.

A brilliant feast begun and soon it was time for everyone to go back to their dorms, Hermione separated from her friends.

"Wish me luck," Hermione whimpered as she hugged Ron last. "A night with Cormac is a living nightmare!"

Ginny smirked. "If he does anything out of line, I give you permission to use my Bat-Bogey hex on him. No one wants to be on the receiving end of that, just ask Ron."

Hermione giggled as Ron shivered at some awful memory he was remembering, waved goodbye and walked towards her dorm. The password was 'Go Head's' and the portrait swung open revealing a spacious and luxurious common room. Book shelves lined one wall and leather sofas were laid out around the large fireplace.

"_Incendio_," Hermione said and waved her hand gracefully. A raging fire magically appeared and began to warm up the room. "I love magic."

Sighing happily at her new dorm and the fact that Cormac hadn't returned yet, Hermione grabbed her trunk and made her way to her room.

The room too was large, with a four poster bed in the middle. An oak desk was in the far right corner, a dressing table against the wall and a chest of drawers and wardrobe was in the far left corner.

"I can so get used to this," Hermione said to herself. She'd changed into her pyjamas and was about to settle in bed with her book when a knock sounded at the door. She opened it and Cormac had leant on the door frame with one arm, his eyes narrowed seductively…or so he thought. Hermione thought he looked like he had something in his eyes.

"Yes Cormac?" Hermione asked annoyed.

"I just wanted to bid you goodnight m'lady," he said and tried to take her hand for another sloppy kiss but Hermione snatched it away from him.

"Oh, well goodnight to you too Cormac," and she shut the door. Hermione instantly felt guilty about being so rude but she told herself that he deserved it! _Slimey creep_.

The next morning was hell; she'd had to wake up earlier than usual to avoid Cormac. Hermione quietly crept out of her room and down the stairs to the Prefects bathroom, she must have looked quite ridiculous running through the corridors of Hogwarts early in the morning with her things in her arms.

She rounded the corner without looking where she was going which was a mistake since it caused her to bump into someone.

"Oof," she huffed as she unexpectedly fell to the ground, her clothes scattering everywhere.

Someone sighed. "Christ, why don't you watch where you're going Granger?"

Hermione looked up at Draco Malfoy who rolled his eyes and bent down to help her gather her things. She was shocked to notice that his voice wasn't lined with the usual disgust and hatred but rather it was a teasing question. Not to mention Draco Malfoy was helping her.

"Thanks Malfoy. I'm sorry for bumping into you," she mumbled as they both straightened up into standing positions.

Draco sighed. "No problem Granger," he said and handed her things over to her.

Draco gave her a curt nod and walked around her, he mentally had to stop himself from looking back. If he thought she was adorable on the train then she was utterly endearing in her pink teddy bear pyjamas and wild hair. Draco couldn't help the smile that appeared on his face, he understood why many of the guys liked Hermione Granger.

However he caught himself. _I shouldn't be thinking about Granger in that way_. With an awkward cough, Draco carried on walking to the Owlery where he was to send his mother a letter.

* * *

><p>"What lessons have you got 'mione?" Harry asked her. Hermione looked at her timetable.<p>

"Potions and then Ancient Runes straight after."

Harry grinned. "Great, Ron and I have potions too. Let's go now."

He kissed Ginny goodbye and the three made their way to Potions. Slughorn stood at the front of the class and he greeted everyone in the same jolly way that he had done in their 6th year. In actual fact, Slughorn had the exact same class in 6th year.

"Welcome back Miss. Granger, Mr. Weasley and Mr. Potter," Slughorn said and shook hands with all three of them. "I thank you for what you have done."

Harry humbly nodded. "Thank you Professor."

Slughorn shuffled around the class greeting everyone. "Good day Mr. Zabini, Mr. Malfoy."

Ron stiffened at the mention of his name. He leaned in to Harry and Hermione. "You know even if the war is over, that guy still pisses me off."

Harry grinned, whether in agreement or at how Ron still held a grudge Hermione didn't know. She found herself disagreeing with Ron, she didn't understand why. Was it because the war was over? Or was it because he'd helped her this morning?

"Right everyone attention please! Today I'm going to make the task extremely vague and I want to see how you all use that brain of yours to approach this task. Today's task is to make a potion that can help someone."

Hermione immediately began to recite all the potions she knew that could help someone in her mind, whether it was to save their life, to make them stronger or…to kill someone.

"In what way Professor?" a Ravenclaw guy asked him.

Slughorn chuckled jovially. "Ah my dear boy that is for you to choose. Of course, there are rules. Nothing extremely deadly if you choose to go down that route, and please…work in pairs."

Everyone groaned and no one moved.

"How disappointing. I guess I shall have to treat you all like 1st years and put you into partners myself. Rebecca and Scott, Charles and Ron…"

Ron picked up his things and moved next to Charles. Slughorn kept on picking partners.

"Hermione and…Draco."

Everyone's eyes were either on Draco or Hermione. Ron didn't look happy at all but he kept his mouth shut.

Harry mouthed 'good luck' as Hermione made her way next to Draco Malfoy. As she sat down she half expected him to scoot away from her but he remained where he was, so _she_ was the one who was forced to scoot to the edge since he took up most of the room. Hermione was highly aware that their elbows were touching and though it sounded like a 13 year old girl making silly assumptions, this simple contact was a serious change for Malfoy. Normally he would have sneered at her to not touch him, but he remained silent…till Slughorn told them to begin.

His eyes turned to her. "So Granger, what do you fancy making this lesson?"

Again, he didn't sound as if he disliked her. It took a moment for Hermione to reply back.

"We can make a healing draught. It's going to be difficult but there are two of us so…" she trailed off.

Draco nodded and stood up. "I'll go get the ingredients for you."

Hermione would have been less stunned if he'd hexed her…at least _that_ was expected. She wasn't used to this Malfoy, the one that was…civil. She decided to not doubt him and relish the 'non-nasty Malfoy' while it lasted.

Draco helped Hermione chop, peel, crush and stir the draught. He knew Hermione was smart but he'd never known the full extent of it till now when he was working side by side her.

"Oh bugger," she hissed as she cut her finger when slicing the mandrake roots. Draco stopped stirring at the potion and without thinking he took her hand, he took a cloth and gently applied pressure on it to slow down the bleeding. He took the cloth away and examined the cut.

"It looks pretty deep, does it hurt?" he asked her in a soft voice. Hermione shook her head in a daze, Draco pulled out his wand.

"_Episkey_," he said and Hermione's finger felt as if she'd dipped it in boiling hot water but then her finger turned cold and there was no more blood or a trace of the cut.

"T-Thank you," she said. Draco realised what he had done for her, dropping Hermione's hand coldly he turned away from her.

"You're so bloody clumsy," he muttered under his breath. Unfortunately it wasn't quiet enough since Hermione heard.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "And what's that supposed to mean?"

Draco growled his answer. "Not looking where you're going and bumping into people, hurting yourself. Honestly…are all Muggles this stupid?"

Hermione's cheeks flushed a violent shade of red. How dare he insult her when she hadn't done anything majorly wrong?

"What is your problem Malfoy? I apologised to you when I _accidentally_ bumped into you this morning. And I didn't ask for you to heal me! You did that all by yourself," Hermione hissed back. She turned her attention back to cutting when Slughorn walked by as he patrolled his classroom; she took greater care when cutting so to make sure she didn't cut herself again.

Draco paid a little too much attention to stirring. Granger was right, she didn't ask for him to heal her. Draco felt the compulsive need _to_ heal her; it was like he had no control over his body.

Hermione pouted angrily. "So you're just going to be rude and not even say anything."

Draco shot her a glare. "Quiet Granger. Some of us actually want to leave Hogwarts with some qualifications."

Hermione gaped at his words. _Who was the one willing to drop out of school to become a Death Eater and serve Voldemort?_ She angrily asked herself. Sighing in frustration she ignored Malfoy for the rest of the lesson.

"How was it?" Ron asked at dinner grumpily.

Hermione poked her food violently. "It was literally the worst lesson of my entire life. I'd take flying lessons over potions with Malfoy any day!"

At her words, Ron perked up slightly.

Harry chuckled. "Isn't that a bit of an exaggeration? Yeah I dislike the guy but he didn't even seem to speak to you."

Ron looked shocked. "You mean…Malfoy didn't call you a…you-know-what?"

Now that she thought about it Malfoy hadn't called her a Mudblood, not even when she bumped into him that morning.

"No, I guess he didn't. But that's probably because we both hate each other so much that we weren't going to bother wasting our breath on each other," Hermione concluded. The rest of dinner was spent with laughter and eating.

"M'lady, allow me to escort you to our sleeping quarters," Cormac suddenly said to Hermione whilst she was surrounded by her group of friends. His hand was held out, waiting for her.

Harry and Ginny were in a fit of laughter, Ginny hid her face in Harry's chest and Harry hid his in Ginny's hair. Ron on the other hand glowered at Cormac.

"Actually, I was going to the Library to do some studying," Hermione lied. She was exhausted and all she wanted was to sleep.

Cormac winked. "Then I'll escort you to the Library."

Hermione sighed. "Never mind, I'll just go back to the bloody dorms with you."

Ginny and Harry were in hysterics as they watched Hermione stalk off with Cormac trailing behind her eagerly.

"I feel so sorry for her," Harry said in between laughs. Ginny snorted.

"At least we're getting a laugh out of it."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Poor Hermione haha! Hope you all enjoyed :D Let me know what you think! Please review! <strong>_


	4. Chapter 4

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, everything you recognise belongs to J.K Rowling.**_

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><p>"Leave me the hell alone!" Draco shouted at Pansy, she blinked at him innocently. He hated it when she did that, pretended to be oblivious to everything!<p>

"What are you talking about Draco? You're my boyfriend-…"

Draco growled at her. "I'm not anymore! I've told you again and again that we're over; get that into your thick skull! I'm sick and tired of you."

Pansy's face turned pale and her eyes widened in shock. It took a full minute till Draco's words registered into her mind; she ran to him and took hold of his toned biceps.

She looked at him pleadingly, shaking his body. "You can't do this to me Draco! We are supposed to be together forever! Don't you understand that I love you and both our parents want us to be together?"

Draco harshly tugged his arm from her grasp, he couldn't even begin to put into words how much he disliked Pansy Parkinson. She was such a pest.

"We're done Pansy. End of," Draco coldly said and walked out of the common room. Blaise Zabini had watched the entire scene and had chuckled to himself.

Blaise was an incredibly handsome guy and made every girl in Hogwarts desire him. His high cheekbones and strong jaw line gave him that rugged handsome looked that some guys failed to achieve. Even Pansy had a hard time _not_ staring at him, since she was supposedly in love with Draco. Blaise's looks could equally rival Draco's…who was also liked by over 70% of the female population in Hogwarts.

"What the hell are you laughing at?" Pansy sneered at Blaise. "Can't you see I'm in a crisis with my boyfriend?"

Blaise smirked as he stood up. "Was I the only one listening to that entire conversation? I don't think Draco's your boyfriend anymore Pansy," Blaise said. Sniggering, he made his way to the boys' dorms leaving Pansy to have a tantrum in the middle of the Common Room.

* * *

><p>Draco ignored the dreamy stares he received from girls of all years and of all houses. He held back a snort. Did they not remember that <em>he<em> was the reason Dumbledore died? Or were they just simply ignoring his past? What he was.

Marching down the halls without looking at anyone, Draco made his way towards the lake. He undid his top button and pulled on his tie so it hung loosely around his neck, he raked a hand through his blonde hair in frustration.

"Women," he sighed angrily. He sat down on the bank of the lake and stared off into the distance, no one ever came to this part of the lake. Everyone always went over to the other side where there was sand and close to the large beech tree. No one came to where Draco sat, to the rich green patch of grass and the shade of the large oak and willow trees was always empty.

Well…he _thought_ no one ever came here.

He heard a high pitched laughter that echoed out into the grounds of the school, curious, Draco got up and searched for the source of laughter.

His eyes softened when he spotted Hermione Granger sitting against a tree with at least 8 books surrounding her. She was reading a book from the library, her eyes were gleaming with excitement and her fingers itched to turn the page to read more.

Draco couldn't explain why his heart began to beat faster at the sight of her, why he had the sudden urge to join in her laughter. Why he wanted to be closer to her. _She's a Mudblood…I'm a pure blood_, one side of him argued.

_Who cares about blood when you-know-who is dead?_ The other challenged.

Draco had never really noticed before but Hermione actually was stunning. The light from the setting sun hit her face making it look flawless and utterly soft, her full lashes framed her intelligent brown eyes and they cast shadows on her flushed cheeks. Her lips were full and inviting and they were slightly parted from the smile that danced across her lips.

_S-She's…beautiful_. Draco thought. It was a realisation as well as a fact.

Hermione heard a twig break and she gasped. Faster than lightning she grabbed her wand and aimed it at Draco Malfoy.

She narrowed her eyes. "Malfoy? What are you doing here?"

He raised an eyebrow at her. "I didn't know you owned this part of the lake Granger."

Hermione rolled her eyes at him and shut her book, her hand inching towards her wand again.

"If you're just going to stand there and be sarcastic then I'm going to leave."

Draco shook his head. "No, you can stay here. You were here first, don't leave on my account."

Her eyebrows shot up in shock but she quickly concealed it, she cleared her throat.

"Actually, I wasn't going to leave. I thought you were and I guess I was right," she admitted with a coy smile. Draco chuckled and sat down a few feet away from her, he snorted at the books.

"Once a know-it-all, always a know-it-all."

Hermione glared at him and packed her books into a high stack. "Nothing wrong with being eager to learn."

"You're _too_ eager, Granger," Malfoy corrected. "Besides why are you reading out here and not with Weasley and Potter? Or the library? I heard you practically live there."

He was teasing her and Hermione hated to admit it, but she kind of liked it. Draco wasn't being horrible or cold, but in fact he was treating her like a normal person rather than a 'filthy Mudblood'.

"Haha," Hermione said sarcastically. "I come out here when I want to get away from the noise…life. It's so peaceful on this side of the lake; I honestly used to think I was the only one who knew about this place. Apparently I was mistaken."

Draco too was shocked that she'd found his little get away haven.

"I come out here too, when I need to clear my mind."

Hermione tilted her head in curiosity. Draco really was handsome, she'd vehemently denied thinking he was handsome but deep down she knew he was. How could he not?

His jaw line was perfectly chiselled and his piercing blue eyes were looking out across the lake, his blonde hair – which had grown over the summer – swirled delicately in the wind since he hadn't slicked it back. He wore his school shirt loose and his tie hung carelessly around his neck.

He was a god.

Hermione looked down trying to keep her thoughts clean. Besides, this was Draco Malfoy! Her sworn enemy, the person who had watched her get tortured at _his_ manor.

However, Hermione set her book down and shifted closer to him.

"What's on your mind?"

He looked at her defensively. "How'd you know there is something?"

"Well you said that you only came out here when you needed to clear your mind, so I'm assuming something is bothering you."

Draco sighed. She really was too clever for her own good.

"No offense Granger but telling you is something I hadn't intended to do," he confessed.

Hermione's body stiffened. "Because I'm a Gryffindor or because I'm a Mudblood?"

Draco's head snapped in her direction. Those weren't the reasons he didn't want to say anything, he hadn't even thought about that till she'd mentioned it.

Shifting uncomfortably, Draco cleared his throat. "Actually, it's because I don't know you very well."

Again, he'd caught her off guard. Hermione was so surprised that he hadn't called her Mudblood; in fact she'd been the one calling herself a Mudblood. Something just didn't seem right to her.

"Why are you being nice?" she asked finally. "You haven't called me Mudblood; we're not exactly on the best of terms."

Draco didn't reply for a moment he just looked out over the lake and Hermione thought he would never reply, but he breathed out through his nose and gazed at her with those eyes that both scared her and excited her.

"I don't know myself to be honest. I guess I'm just tired of…arguing. Arguing with Potter and Weasley, with you…" he trailed off but his eyes were fixed on Hermione.

"I didn't think you were the type to get tired of arguing," Hermione said with a hint of laughter in her voice. Draco gave her a lopsided grin that made her heart squeeze with pleasure, gosh he really was handsome!

"Actually, I only picked on Potter and Weasley because I always got a reaction out of them. Especially Weasley," he explained laughing and Hermione found herself joining in.

Draco watched as she gently flung her head back and let out a tinkling laugh, her graceful neck was exposed begging to be kissed. Never in a million years would he have thought that Hermione Granger would have this affect on him, things were definitely changing!

"Ron has a thing of proving himself," she told him.

Draco lay down on the grass with his arms behind his head; Hermione busied herself with re-stacking her books as she desperately tried to keep her gaze away from his body. She wasn't supposed to feel this way for Malfoy, all the years he'd treated her horribly…the time at his Manor and yet she enjoyed having a conversation with him.

"So what's your excuse on being out here?" Draco asked, his turn to question.

"I just wanted some quiet to read my books that's all."

Draco turned his head and caught one of the titles of her books, he snorted.

"Hamlet, really?"

"You know Hamlet?" Hermione asked, shocked that he knew a Muggle play.

Draco smirked. "I personally prefer Muggle literature," he realised what he'd revealed and he sat up and gave her a hard stare. "Tell anyone and I'll hex you so bad, your ancestors will feel your pain."

Hermione giggled and pretended to zip her lips shut, but she was still smiling. She was going to get so much hell from Ron and Harry if they found out about this; she was talking and enjoying her time with Draco Malfoy! If anyone had told her this 2 years ago, she would have laughed cruelly in their face and insisted they went to St. Mungo's for a mental check up.

Hermione took Hamlet from the pile. "I won't tell a soul, but I didn't know you liked Muggle literature. How did that happen?"

He shrugged casually. "I don't know why I do either. Muggles have this tendency to believe in 'happily ever after'. And I guess it fascinates me."

"What's wrong with believing in that?"

Draco swallowed. "Nothing Granger. It's just; I admire how Muggles easily believe in that happy ending."

Hermione looked carefully at his expression; it seemed as if he was debating something in his mind.

"Don't you believe in happy endings Malfoy?"

"Malfoy's don't get happy endings," he answered in a deadpan voice. A minute of awkward silence passed between them, if this was Harry or Ron, Hermione would have hugged either one by now but not with Malfoy. God knows what he'd do to her if she did.

Draco cleared his throat and faced her. "So, anything else apart from Hamlet?"

Hermione scoffed. "What's wrong with Hamlet?"

"It's so depressing!"

"But that's the beauty of it, honestly Malfoy. Shakespeare is utterly amazing when it comes to Tragedies," she said shaking her head and rolling her eyes.

"The man must have had some serious depression issues."

They continued to talk about books and before they knew it, it was already dark.

"Merlin's beard! We've been out here for 2 hours!" Hermione cried as she checked her watch.

Draco was surprised to hear that, he knew he'd lost track of time but not 2 whole hours! Then again, he found that Hermione was strangely very easy to talk to. She listened well and gave her own intelligent input; Draco noticed that she had a habit of pouting whenever she disagreed with anything he said.

"I'll walk you back to the Head's Dorms," Draco offered as he got up. Hermione leaned away from him slightly.

"Are you begin serious?"

"Do I look like I'm joking?" Draco asked confused.

She shook her head, her wavy curls swaying in the cool night breeze.

"No it's just…I'm not used to this…not used to this new _you_."

_Get used to it_. Draco thought in his mind, because as he walked Hermione back to the Head's Dorms he realised that she could be a valuable friend. If she let them be friends of course.

Did he really mean that? That he wanted to be friends with her, so many people would frown upon it and he would definitely be an outcast in his House. Not to mention his parents…his father would disagree with it.

"Oh crap," Hermione whispered. Draco looked down at her, the corridors were pretty empty so no one stared at the two walking together.

"Why? Have you hurt yourself?"

"No it's not that, it's McLaggen and he's going to be badgering me on where I've been. He's a pain in the bloody ass," Hermione admitted. "I promised that I'd give him a chance, that if McGonagall saw something in McLaggen to make him Head Boy then maybe I could see something in him too. So far all I've seen is that he's a nose picking slob!"

Draco laughed out loud and Hermione joined in shortly afterwards.

"You know Granger, you're actually quite funny."

She glared at him playfully.

They stopped outside the Head's Dorms and a strange feeling came over both of them, neither one wanted to part from the other. Draco had enjoyed Hermione's ability to listen and Hermione had enjoyed Draco being nice and gentleman like.

"Urm, thank you," Hermione thanked him shyly. "For walking me back here, you didn't have to."

Draco snorted. "Of course I did! What kind of guy lets a girl walk around by herself at night?"

Hermione giggled. "Well thank you nonetheless. I hope your friends don't mind that you'd spent 2 hours talking about nonsense with me."

Draco gazed at her softly. She felt the full intensity of his gaze.

"It wasn't nonsense," he softly said.

And another silence fell but this time it wasn't awkward, the silence was pleasant.

It was only when the portrait whined whether or not Hermione was not going to enter that they both awoke from their daydreaming.

Draco coughed into his hand and bowed slightly. "Good night…Granger."

Hermione didn't let her disappointment show at the fact that Draco had used her last name, she gave him a curt nod and a small smile.

"You too, Malfoy."

And she disappeared behind the portrait, leaving Draco to re-count every second spent with her at the lake.

* * *

><p>Harry, Ron and Ginny had visited Hermione in her dorm that night. Thankfully, Cormac was our and the four had the Common room to themselves.<p>

"My god, you're so lucky!" Ginny exclaimed as she toured the Common Room, even Hermione had to admit that the Head's Dorms was a little fancier than the Gryffindor Tower.

Harry grinned at Hermione. "Mind if we crash here tonight?"

"Oh please do! I can't stand Cormac saying goodnight to me anymore. So if you're all here, then you can answer the door."

No way was Hermione letting Cormac ruin her good mood. As the 4 walked up the stairs to Hermione's bedroom, they all noticed the wide smile and her good spirit.

"Stop smiling, you're hurting my eyes," Ron joked and poked Hermione on the cheek. She just rolled her eyes and sat down on the bed with Ginny, who eyed her warily.

"What's wrong with you? You look like Victor Krum took you to the Yule ball again."

Hermione shrugged, she didn't remember feeling this good in a long time. Talking with Draco earlier this evening, it made her feel a sense of achievement. That they'd somehow overcome their hatred for each other and come to almost a civil truce.

"Nothing happened."

Harry smirked. "Hermione, you're blushing."

Her hand flew to her flaming cheeks, she didn't even know she _was_ blushing in the first place. A scary thought crossed her mind.

_Am I blushing because I'm thinking of Malfoy?_

Though they'd talked, she wasn't ready for that type of relationship.

"Who wouldn't under this interrogation? Now all shut up about me, or I'll kick you out. And for the record, I wasn't with a guy, I was reading," she lied. Her voice went up a notch; she just hoped they didn't notice.

They all seemed to buy it and didn't question her any further. She gave them a quick tour of her room and then they all played Wizard's chest, well, Harry and Ron played whilst Hermione and Ginny sat on the bed and talked.

"Are you sure you were _just_ reading Hermione?" Ginny asked again. "You look very…happy."

Hermione smiled at her red haired friend. "Of course, I was just happy to get away from McLaggen that's all."

Ginny nodded, but she wasn't completely fooled. Someone had to have put Hermione in a good mood, and Ginny knew it wasn't McLaggen.

Draco was lying down on the couch in the Slytherin Common room, he'd just got back from walking Hermione to the Gryffindor Tower. After talking to her, he felt as if he'd confided in someone.

"Drakie!" a whiny voice called out. His mouth tensed into a grimace but he didn't open his closed eyes. He felt Pansy try to lie down beside him but he purposely took up the entire couch, so she slid off the side.

"Where have you been?" Blaise Zabini asked in accusation. "We'd been looking for you."

Crabbe and Goyle grunted in agreement. Draco sighed and opened his eyes.

"I went out for a walk."

Pansy scoffed. "You could have invited me with you."

Blaise whispered in Crabbe's ear and he and Goyle walked off with a struggling Pansy, leaving Blaise and Draco alone.

"Thank you," Draco said. "I think I need to hex Parkinson, something that targets her vocal chords. Or I'll have to settle with ear plugs."

Blaise chuckled and leaned on the couch's arm rest. "Where were you really Draco?"

Blaise and Draco had been friends since third year. The first two years they weren't close since they both thought that their families was better than the other, but an event on their third year of school during the holiday's changed things.

Soon, Blaise had become one of Draco's most loyal and trusted friends. Actually, Blaise was Draco's _only_ true friend.

Draco raised a brow. "What makes you think I'm lying?"

Blaise didn't say anything for a long moment.

"Did you shag someone?"

"No!" Draco denied in outrage. Quite insulted by the sheer question actually. "What makes you think that?"

Any other time and he would have boasted about it, but not now.

Blaise shrugged and sat down on the free arm chair. "You just look…happy. Like you let off steam, so I thought maybe you shagged someone. Now that I think about it, you probably did just go for a walk."

And that was the last of that. Draco said to Blaise that he was going to bed and went to his own private dorm his father had paid for in his 1st year.

He looked in his mirror and he understood what Blaise had meant, his eyes were full of life and gleaming. His lips were lifted slightly at the corners threatening to show a full smile.

_Is this because I talked to Granger?_ He asked himself, but he batted that thought away. _No, it can't be. She's a Muggle-born, she doesn't hold any attraction for me. I'm just happy because I was away from Pansy for 2 hours. Yeah…that's why I'm happy._

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><p><em><strong>More Draco and Hermione interaction ;) I know it's slow paced but if they got together already then it would get pretty boring right? <strong>_

_**Please review! I would love to know what you all think :D **_

_**Peace out x**_


	5. Chapter 5

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, everything you recognise belongs to J.K Rowling.**_

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><p>The trio and Ginny were lounging lazily in the Gryffindor Common room. Well…Harry, Ron and Ginny were whilst Hermione sat diligently at the study desk writing out topics to discuss for the upcoming Prefects meeting.<p>

"Will you give it a rest?" Ron asked from the floor, where he lay in front of the raging fire. "You've been studying for at least 2 hours and then you went straight into making that pointless list. Spend some time with your friends."

Hermione didn't look up from her piece of parchment, but her writing slowed marginally. "I am spending time with my friends Ronald. If one of you started a conversation, I'd be more than happy to participate."

Suddenly her wand began to glow a light shade of orange and it spun rapidly around and around in a perfect circle on the desk.

Harry being the paranoid sod that he was whipped out his own wand and aimed it at Hermione's, thinking it had been possessed with some sort of Dark Magic. It was a rather silly assumption, there was no more Voldemort or Death Eater's to worry about.

"What the bloody hell is that?" Ginny shrieked.

Hermione smiled and whispered a few words and the spinning came to an abrupt halt.

"It's just this charm I learnt from Professor Shacklebolt in Defence today. I told him I would get carried away with studying-…"

Ron snorted. "Yeah, too right!"

Kingsley Shacklebolt was the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, the trio and Ginny were particularly pleased with this. The man knew a lot about the Dark Arts and he was a great family friend to the Weasley's, not that there was much to worry now that Voldemort was gone but there still were terrible people and some loose Death Eater's but Aurors were continuously being sent out to round Death Eater's up.

Hermione glowered at him before continuing. "As I was saying, I would get carried away that I lost track of time so he taught me a spell that would alert me when it was time for my patrols. It's kind of like the Wizarding world's version of an alarm clock."

"A what clock?" Ginny asked perplexed, however Harry understood perfectly. He stowed his wand back into the pocket of his robes.

"Oh. So you're on patrol duty tonight?"

Hermione nodded as she packed her things away. "Yep. I'll see you all tomorrow. Goodnight."

"Wait! Want me to come with you? You know, to make sure McLaggen doesn't bother you?" Ron offered eagerly.

Hermione bit her lip. "Actually Ron, I'm already patrolling with someone. I've been patrolling with the same person since the beginning of term, and besides, McLaggen was too preoccupied with his hair the last time I saw him. So there's no need to worry, I'll see you tomorrow."

Hermione bounded out of Gryffindor tower and made her way towards the Great Hall to meet her patrol partner. When she saw him she grinned and giggled.

"You know, you kind of look quite shifty standing there by yourself Zabini," Hermione said with a smirk.

Blaise rolled his eyes had and took his hands out of his trouser pockets. "You're in a good mood tonight, I see."

"Of course! No McLaggen to infuriate me, I've come up with a list of topics to discuss at the Prefects meeting. I'm up to date with all my homework. If I do say so myself, I'm on a roll," said Hermione in a sing-song voice.

Blaise chuckled. "So Hermione, where would you like to start our patrol?"

"How about the second floor?"

Blaise pulled a face. "No bloody way! I am not having that deranged ghost rubbing her non-existent tits on my chest!"

Hermione snickered as last week's patrol came to mind; Myrtle had caught Blaise taking his jumper off and couldn't resist a touch. However, she also couldn't resist pressing herself against him either. For Blaise it was a nightmare for Hermione…it was epic.

"Just when I thought you two were ready for the 'Going Steady' title," Hermione joked. Blaise scoffed but couldn't help but smirk.

"Shut it. Let's just start with the fourth floor."

Hermione and Blaise had been friends since the end of their 4th year at Hogwarts. They were Arithmancy partners and Hermione instantly assumed she'd dread it since she'd been partnered with Blaise Zabini…who she assumed was completely clueless on the subject.

She was pleasantly shocked when she realised Blaise was actually intelligent and from then on, the two shared conversations and became friends. They were even on a first name basis. Unfortunately, their friendship was a secret. They both knew that it wouldn't be taken well with their usual group of friends. Ron would have a seizure if he knew.

So they kept themselves on the 'down low' and talked in Arithmancy and during their patrols, but if Hermione was alone in the corridors then Blaise would permit himself to give her a friendly smile and a small bow of his head to show her that he acknowledged her presence.

"Do you think a ball is a good idea or not?" Hermione suddenly asked. "I mean, is it too soon…after the war?"

Blaise shook his head. "No, I think a ball is just what this school needs. Of course, it's good for me. I get hundreds of girls throwing themselves at my feet."

"Please stop. I can practically hear your head expand, sadly it's your head and _not_ your brain."

Blaise laughed. "You do realise that you're the only girl who hasn't made a move on me yet?"

"And I'm supposed to be upset about that?"

Blaise sighed dramatically. "If you must know, I am one of the most wanted guys in this school! You should be honoured to be standing in my very presence."

Hermione laughed. "God, what has your ego done to your brain cells Blaise?"

"Whatever Hermione. You can't deny that I'm not handsome."

Hermione didn't deny it, because Blaise _is_ handsome. She just didn't like to voice out her thoughts, his ego was big enough!

"So you're not _the_ most wanted guy but _one_ of them? Who are the others?"

"I'm the third most wanted. Potter was first, being the chosen one and defeating the Dark Lord and all that, but he began to date that feisty red head. So he's moved down the hierarchy."

"That 'feisty red head' happens to have a name you know and she's also my friend," Hermione said in a tone that made Blaise chuckle.

"Anyway, Weasel-bee is in the running but that frizzy haired bint in your house that dated him in 6th year. Lola Brown?"

"Lavender Brown."

"Yes that one. Anyway, she has been spreading rumours that he's a terrible kisser. So girls have been put off. Knocked down to fourth or fifth place, so I'm told by Pansy Parkinson."

Hermione blushed. "Ron's not bad; he's just a…very eager kisser. He tends to get a little too excited."

Blaise laughed. "A nice way of saying 'he eats people's faces off'."

Hermione didn't say anything.

"So that leaves McLaggen. Head Boy, but even then he's not the most wanted, second actually. Only because of his title of course. Everyone knows McLaggen looks like a bulldog that ran into a wall but no one will admit it because he's Head Boy."

"So who's first?"

Blaise raised an eyebrow, Hermione gaped at him. "You're first?"

"I'm quite flattered Granger, do you think I'm_ that_ good looking?"

Blaise always reverted back to Hermione's last name when he was teasing or angry.

"Oh hush! Is it really you?"

Blaise shook his head. "Nah, besides I told you earlier I was in third place. Gosh your listening skills are quite poor Granger."

"Oh just tell me!" Hermione snapped. She was more teasing rather than being actually annoyed.

Blaise took a deep breath in. "It's Draco."

Hermione stopped walking, her limbs literally locked in place. Blaise furrowed his brows and looked behind his shoulder to see Hermione a good 10 feet away.

"Hermione?"

"M-Malfoy is the most desired guy in the school?" she managed to croak.

Hermione didn't understand why it surprised her so much, she was well aware of how many girls thought he was insanely good looking. In fact, she too thought that Draco was handsome. It was hard not to! He always had at least 4 girls scuttling after him, giggling crazily as they did. He even had a fan club! Apparently there is a 'How well do you know Draco Malfoy' test you have to pass to become a member!

Blaise shrugged. "Yeah. Why do you seem so…surprised?"

"I-It's just…" Hermione couldn't seem to find the words. Blaise sighed heavily.

"Because of his past?"

Hermione winced. "Partly the reason. I guess it's because I've spent all my school life hating Malfoy, that I don't really see him as a man."

That was a big fat lie! One of the many reasons why Hermione disliked Draco so much in the past was the fact that even though he was rude to her, cruel to her and downright arrogant, he still managed to make her gasp with his good looks. It wasn't something she was proud of, and it only made her dislike Draco even more.

"You know 'mione, it hurts to hear that you don't think us Slytherin's are worth looking at," Blaise said hurt.

Hermione gasped. "Oh no Blaise, that's not what I meant! Its cause you're Slytherin's that I don't find you attractive. Oh gosh, I mean only a few of you are attractive the rest aren't."

_What the bloody hell am I doing?_ Hermione asked herself, mortified.

Blaise laughed loudly and gently pat her on the head. "I'm only teasing Hermione! How do Potter and Weasel-bee put up with that god awful rambling?"

Hermione relaxed knowing she hadn't offended Blaise and smiled with him.

"On the contrary to what you believe. I do find you handsome Zabini," Hermione said and walked away with her head held high and hands clasped behind her back.

For a second Blaise was still but when her words registered themselves in his mind, he ran after her. His arms flapping dramatically at his sides.

"I'm never going to let you forget you said that!"

* * *

><p>"Where have you been?" Draco asked Blaise who entered the Slytherin Common room.<p>

He sat down on the couch and yawned. "Patrol tonight."

Draco nodded. "Oh. Who do you patrol with? You haven't told me since term started."

Blaise was silent for a moment before he answered. "Oh just some girl. Why?"

"Nothing, just asking. Anyway, mother sent me a letter saying that my father's sentence was cut short. So he'll be home by the Christmas holidays," Draco informed him.

"Oh good old Lucy. He always does throw a heck of a party," Blaise said with a muffled snigger. Lucy was a nickname Blaise had adopted for Lucius though Blaise never actually said 'Lucy' to Lucius' face.

Draco had been worrying over his father's release ever since he received the letter but when Blaise arrived he smiled at his friend, the mood much lighter.

"What makes you think you're invited?"

"Oh god, will I have to charm you with my amazing good looks so you'll ask me?" Blaise asked sarcastically. Draco flipped him off but was smirking.

Blaise yawned and stood up. "I'm off to bed mate. I'll see you in Potions tomorrow."

Potions…Draco closed his eyes and the moment he did an image of Hermione Granger laughing and smiling appeared. A warm feeling pooled inside him as he imagined the way her neck was exposed deliciously, like it was at the Lake.

But when Draco opened his eyes he cursed himself. _My father would never approve of Granger! I shouldn't even be thinking of her._

That was one of the many reasons as to why he was so worried about Lucius returning from Azkaban. Draco was free from Voldemort but he would never be free from his father, Lucius had so many expectations of Draco. Lucius – before he was locked away in Azkaban – would even control what he ate!

"As Purebloods we must only eat and drink the finest food, I will not settle for food that is made by pathetic bloody traitors, useless half bloods and eating food that has been made by the slimey fingers of a rancid Mudblood is out of the question!"

If his father found out Draco was partnered with Hermione Granger, the 'Mudblood', he would immediately come to the school demanding Slughorn to be fired for pairing a pure-blooded Malfoy with a filthy Muggle.

His father's presence suffocated him. Draco wasn't sure he wanted his father back home controlling his life again; it was an awful thought but Draco was sick and tired of it all.

She was Muggle-born and he was a pure blood, not to mention that Hermione was part of the Golden Trio. The trio that were famously known for defeating Voldemort.

Draco shook his head as if he was shaking Hermione out of his thoughts. _I have to stop thinking about her. For her own good and mine._

* * *

><p>Hermione breathed out through her nose as Draco answered her question with yet another uninterested grunt. She was thoroughly confused, one moment he was being civil to her. He healed her cut and even spoke to her at the Lake. The next moment he's treating her like the dirt beneath his shoes…again.<p>

However, Hermione didn't give up. She wasn't sorted into Gryffindor for nothing. She took a deep breath and forced a smile onto her face.

"Slughorn wants all the pairs to present their potion to class with a speech on how to make it and where to find the ingredients. How about meeting up during the week? At the library maybe?"

Since their choice was a healing draught, it took longer to make than the other people had chosen to make. The draught had to brew for at least 10 days, so she would need Draco's help. If he was willing and complying.

Draco turned on her with cold eyes. "No offence Granger, but I'd rather not."

Hermione wouldn't have taken offence at his lack of contribution but his tone of voice angered her. She slammed down her wand onto the table and glared at the blonde haired douche bag next to her.

"What is your problem? I've been trying to be nice all lesson and you've been nothing but rude," Hermione hissed. "God, I swear your mood changes quicker than the bloody weather."

"What don't you understand Granger? I _don't_ want to talk to the likes of you," Draco sneered at her. The second the words were out he wanted to take them back; he saw how her bottom lip quivered with rage. Her eyes were glistening with tears that threatened to spill down her cheeks.

Much to his surprise, Hermione didn't cry in front of him. Her luscious lips were thin as they curled over her now small and straight teeth.

"Why are you such a dick?"

Before Draco could reply, Slughorn passed by their table and peered into their cauldron. Slughorn looked at Hermione, his eyes wide.

"Why Miss. Granger, why is your healing draught not the pearl colour it should be. Have you not added the lacewig? You and Mr. Malfoy have had 45 minutes," Slughorn said as he checked his watch. "I'm rather disappointed. You better hurry if you wish to finish it; I do detest chatter boxes during an important project Miss. Granger. Especially during your N.E.W.T's year."

Hermione's jaw fell open as Slughorn walked away to check on Ron and Charles' latest cauldron disaster. She slowly turned around to face Draco, her teeth bared in fury.

Draco couldn't help but grin at her current state; she almost looked like a mad old hag – well she was a little more attractive than the average loony hag. The fumes of the healing draught made her tamed curls spiral out of control into a bushy mess, the mane of hair he was used to teasing in their earlier years of Hogwarts.

"Oh, you think this funny do you?" Hermione asked slowly. Dangerously. "You think that _me_ getting told off because of _your_ lack of contribution to this lesson is…funny?"

Draco's shoulders were trembling with silent laughter; Harry looked over his shoulder to see Hermione frowning at a bent over Draco, his face hidden in his arms. Harry made a mental note to ask Hermione what was wrong at dinner.

Draco wiped the tears from his eyes. "God Granger, has someone shoved a poker up your ass? You sound like a snotty cow."

That was it. Hermione stormed away from hers and Draco's table towards the store room. She needed to get away from his smirking face, otherwise Draco would be headed to the Hospital Wing with a broken nose and she would definitely make sure he would leave with one.

Draco wanted to keep on laughing at her but he instantly felt guilty, he didn't know why but he did. Sighing, he got up and followed her.

"Granger I didn't mean-…"

His sentence was cut short when he tripped over someone's stool; he tumbled forwards into Hermione's body. Acting reflexively, Draco grabbed her frail shoulders and flipped their positions so that he was the one that _she_ landed on rather than the other way around.

Hermione squealed and tried to grab a shelf in the Store Room to steady herself but it was too late. The shelves in the Store Room gave away and all of the ingredients fell down onto the floor, glass bottles shattered, ingredients scattered across the floor. Shelf after shelf in the store room ripped away from the wall, causing dust to cloud around the two and a loud bang sounded.

"Crap," Draco wheezed as Hermione landed on top of him, her elbows digging into his stomach.

She winced and buried her head into Draco's robes but gasped when she realised what she was doing. She sat up and stared horrified at the mess her and Draco had created.

She began to hit Draco and clawed at him. "Look at what you did! You bloody idiot! You absolute buffoon…" she screeched. The entire class watched with wide eyes as they saw Hermione Granger – Head Girl – slap and scratch at Draco Malfoy.

He tried to dodge her jabs but she had a seriously good aim. "Ow! Oof! Ouch! Will you stop it Granger!"

"Ahem," a gruff voice interrupted them. Hermione froze mid punch and turned her head sharply in Slughorn's direction, Harry and Ron were behind Slughorn. Their faces looked torn; it seemed that they didn't know whether to be happy that Hermione was punching Draco, or whether they should be sorry for her.

Hermione scrambled up into a standing position, leaving Draco looking rather pathetic on the floor by himself. He caught Blaise grinning at him.

Slughorn frowned. "What has gotten into you Miss. Granger? You were my star pupil!"

Hermione spluttered, "But I am! It's just-…"

Slughorn held up his hand. "That's quite enough Miss. Granger, Mr. Malfoy. I will have you both here tonight after dinner; you can clean this mess up then."

Slughorn walked away and ordered the class back to work. Hermione stumbled back into the door leaning on it for support, her breathing becoming shallow.

"Oh my gosh. I think I just got a detention."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Hope you all liked xD Let me know through a review! <strong>_

_**I want to say a quick thank you to those who have reviewed so far and to those who have done the Alerts on my story :D It means a lot to me and so does your support! **_

_**Peace out dudes xx**_


	6. Chapter 6

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, everything you recognise belongs to J.K Rowling.**_

* * *

><p>Ron and Harry made their way up the Head's Dorm room but they caught Cormac scuttling down the stairs, looking fretfully behind his shoulder.<p>

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Cormac?"

He turned around and let out a sigh of relief. "Thank god you've come Potter. Hermione has lost her mind."

"She's what?" Ron asked.

"She's in the Common Room shouting and throwing things, she's hexing everything in the room. She said, well yelled, something about a Store Room?"

Harry exchanged an anxious look with Ron. "Thanks for telling us McLaggen, we'll take it from here."

The two boys told the portrait the password and cautiously entered the room, as Harry stepped foot inside the Common Room a vase headed straight for his face. Ducking just in time, the vase flew past his head skimming his hair and then it crashed to the floor.

Ron gaped at how messy the room was and then gaped even more at the girl who had caused the mess, who was kicking and screaming like a banshee.

Hermione Granger…was having an emotional breakdown. Her cheeks were red with anger, her eyes were alight with an insanity the two guys have never seen before. Harry slowly edged closer to her.

"Are you okay 'mione?"

Hermione stopped screeching and glared at Harry.

"Do I _look_ okay?"

Ron shrugged. "Well no, you look kind of dreadful-…"

Harry stamped hard on his best friend's left foot making Ron whimper. He hopped on his right leg and cursed Harry.

"You prat! What did you do that for?"

Harry closed his eyes and signalled with his head in Hermione's direction, Ron took a long moment to realise what he'd done. When he did, he let out an 'oh' and shuffled closer to Harry in case Hermione threw another object.

Hermione collapsed onto the couch. "I have a bloody detention! With Malfoy at that, god, kill me now. Please do it," she begged dramatically.

Now that she'd stopped hexing things and screaming, Harry and Ron began to laugh hard. They clutched their stomachs and rolled around on the floor, Hermione glared at the two of them. Her hands on her hips. Not finding anything comical in the situation.

"What is so funny? I'm in a middle of a crisis here!" she growled at them, though she had to admit, they did look quite amusing as they frolicked on the floor. A small grin lifted her lips but she quickly masked it when they looked back at her.

Ron stood up and wiped his fake tears. "I'm so sorry Hermione, it's the wrong time to say this, but when you were hexing things…I think it bounced back or something. Cast a hex that affects the brain by any chance?"

She stiffened. "What on earth do you mean Ronald?"

Harry sniggered uncontrollably. "He's just joking 'mione. What he meant was that you're acting very out of character," Harry explained carefully.

Hermione moaned and sat down on the couch as she buried her face into her hands, she stamped her feet like a 4 year old child having a tantrum. She was over reacting but she couldn't help it, she was just so…angry.

Harry noticing his friend's anguish sat down beside her and put a comforting arm around her shoulders. He pulled her to his side and gently rocked her back and forth.

"Detention with Slughorn shouldn't be so bad 'mione," Harry said.

Hermione frowned. "It's not Slughorn I'm annoyed about, it's Malfoy," she sneered his name as if it disgusted her. Hermione couldn't believe that she thought he was changing, obviously her encounter with him at the Lake was either a practical joke or Malfoy was high on potion fumes or something. It was clear that he wasn't changing.

Ron sat down on her other side, he found himself grinning and enjoying this. He knew he should be comforting Hermione but it was good to know that she still hated Draco Malfoy, Ron had been worrying that the two would miraculously become close since they were partnered together in Potion's.

Ron spent more time watching Hermione and Draco rather than his own cauldron!

"What happened today anyway?" Ron asked. "Last lesson, you looked pretty chummy," Ron said, with a steel edge to his voice.

Hermione gave him an exasperated look. "We were not!" Hermione's cheeks were tinted with a pink hue yet again but this time it was from embarrassment. They'd notice Draco was kind to her last Potion's lesson, if only he were like that today.

Harry threw Ron a look before facing Hermione. "I saw you two getting pretty angry at each other in lesson today, what was that about?."

Hermione gnawed on her bottom lip. God, how was she supposed to tell them that she'd spoken and laughed with Draco Malfoy at the Lake the other day? Which had spurred her thoughts on his changing personality. They'd skin her alive! Harry would shout at her and Ron would threaten to snap Draco's neck in half, though that idea was highly tempting at the moment.

"I-I was trying to put the past behind us last lesson, I'll admit that. Today he was just so rude and I just lost it," Hermione admitted. "I know I shouldn't have but he just infuriates me, he walks around Hogwarts like he owns the place. I can't believe he's the most wanted guy in the school!"

Ron pulled back to examine her entire face. "How'd you know that?"

"What?" Hermione wasn't in the mood for Ron's mind games, she wouldn't hesitate to hex him either.

"I didn't think you'd know something like that."

_Crap!_ Another slip up, Hermione couldn't tell them she was friends with Blaise Zabini either!

"I'd heard it from other girls," she lied. "But that's not the point, the point is I've been given a detention I don't deserve! Malfoy was the one who fell into _me_," she wailed.

Deep down however, Hermione knew that it wasn't the detention that made her angry but it was what Malfoy had said. The 'poker' joke really irked her and she was close to punching him square in the face again.

_I don't have anything shoved my arse._ Hermione thought with an angry blush. _I'll show him, bloody idiot! Being rude to me and getting me into a detention because of his clumsiness, stupid Slytherin asshole._

* * *

><p>"Ah, Miss. Granger," Slughorn said making Draco swivel his head to the door. Indeed, Hermione was there looking rather pissed off. She closed the door behind her.<p>

She was wearing only her school skirt, shirt and jumper. Her sleeves had been rolled up carelessly to show the fair skin of her arms, she'd left her robe off. Draco eyed her subtly, noting that she wasn't as figureless as some people made her out to be. In fact, Hermione was quite a fairly curvy young Witch.

"I'm sorry I'm late, I had to talk to er…Head Boy," she said but sneered at Draco who disguised his laugh as a cough. He knew very well how much of a nuisance Cormac was to Hermione, it always entertained him to see Hermione Granger losing her patience with someone.

Slughorn bowed his head. "Not to worry Miss. Granger, you're here now. You may begin to clean up the mess you and Mr. Malfoy created today, and if you start now, you may leave earlier than I had originally planned to keep you."

"Yes sir," they both grumbled grumpily. Draco had never really cleaned in his life before.

_How hard could it be?_ He pulled out his wand but before he could say the incantation, Slughorn cleared his throat.

"I apologise for not stressing earlier, but I wish you to clean the Store Room without magic."

Hermione simply nodded but Draco gaped at Slughorn. "P-Professor, surely we should be allowed to use magic. This would take ages to clean without it!"

Slughorn smirked at him. "Then you best get started, Mr. Malfoy."

Hermione gruffly picked up a broom and began to sweep up the shards of glass on the floor, when she heard the click of a door opening. She looked to see Slughorn leaving the room.

"S-Sir! Are you not staying here to supervise us?"

Slughorn shook his head. "No, Miss. Granger. I am going to go and get my dinner, but I can assure you that if you use magic I _will_ know about it."

Hermione looked horrified. Alone in a classroom with…Malfoy! Who was going to stop her from strangling him to death!

Hermione sighed heavily and began to sweep again. She'd already checked inside the Store Room and Slughorn had already fixed the broken shelves and new glass jars were on the side ready for the ingredients to be put into them, 15 minutes into the detention she straightened up and glared at Draco who was sitting on the tables kicking his legs.

"Would you do something, you're as useless as the giant squid!" said Hermione as she hopped over some black goo, she assumed it was one of Slughorn's ready made Potion's he would use to show in the beginning of class.

Draco snorted. "Do I look dressed to clean?"

She rolled her eyes. "Anyone would think you were gay with the way you treat your freaking clothes. Worse than a bloody girl."

At that, Draco jumped off the table and stood directly in front of her. She gasped at how close he was, his closeness allowed her to inhale his cologne. She couldn't stop breathing in, he smelt so damn good. Whatever it was, it smelt expensive. Then again, she didn't expect anything less from him.

"You think I'm gay? Would you like me to prove to you that I'm not?"

Hermione was intoxicated with his scent and mesmerised by his blue eyes, they were so clear that she swear she could see right into his soul, even if it did sound cliché. Draco lifted his hand to stroke her arm in a manner that made her shiver.

"Would you like me to prove to you, Granger?" he whispered in her ear softly, repeating his question. Hermione blinked rapidly and gasped when she realised what they were doing, she shoved him away and stepped back from him.

Draco was taken aback by her reaction; he'd _never_ had a girl reject him before! He rubbed his chest looking at Hermione, he was also trying to rub the stinging feeling of rejection away.

"That bloody hurt, would you stop hitting me for one second?" Draco snarled at her. Hermione took a step back but her foot landed into the black goo, causing her to slip. Draco's eyes widened and he grabbed her waist before she dropped onto the floor, clutching her petite body closer to his own.

Hermione instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck and shut her eyes tight, but she never hit the ground. Slowly opening her eyes she saw Draco's worried face inches away from hers, his gaze on her lips before they met her eyes.

"Are you okay?" he asked sincerely. She nodded in a daze and he helped her stand up, steadying her as she swayed unsteadily.

Draco's hands were still around her waist and he found himself not wanting to let go, he'd always thought Hermione Granger was unattractive. Now, he could feel the lustrous curves beneath her unflattering school robes. He was seeing her in a new light, a dangerous light. He shouldn't be feeling this way for Hermione Granger.

"I-I'm fine," Hermione stammered, she stepped away from him and picked up the broom. Using it to keep herself upright. "We s-should get back to cleaning," she said and turned her back to him.

Draco watched her figure longingly before sighing. "Yeah, I'll go get another broom."

_What the hell was that?_ Hermione screamed to herself. She'd felt her heart racing, her cheeks heating up, her stomach knotted pleasantly. Why was she feeling like this? It was Draco bloody Malfoy, the arrogant school bully. The guy that allowed his aunt to torture her.

She couldn't however deny the feelings that pooled inside of her when Draco held her so close.

_I've been single for way too long_. She convinced herself, she kept sneaking sideway glances at Draco. Hermione swore he was looking at her too but she wasn't 100% sure. She didn't want to think about him anymore.

_I have Cormac to deal with, he's annoying enough. I don't need Malfoy to complicate my life even more!_

Sometime later, Slughorn returned just as Draco and Hermione had swept up the last of the ingredients and stored them in a jar.

"Ah, well done Mr. Malfoy, Miss. Granger. I trust you two will do better next lesson, you're dismissed."

They bowed and rushed out of the room, Hermione was heading to her dorm but she felt a presence beside her. She looked to see Draco walking beside her, their elbows brushing slightly.

She leaned away from him in surprise. "What are you doing?"

"I'm walking you back to your dorm."

"Why? I thought you didn't want to talk to me?" Hermione bitterly quoted him from their Potion's class earlier that day. Draco rolled his eyes; trust Hermione Granger to remember everything he said. Yes, he should ignore her but it didn't mean he had to stop acting like a gentleman. He could walk her back, there's no harm in that.

"A guy should never let a girl walk around by herself at night time, and we don't have to talk," Draco reminded her blankly. His words were similar to the ones he'd said when he'd walked Hermione to her dorm after spending time with him at the Lake.

Not completely comfortable after their argument this morning and their latest detention fiasco, but she would rather him with her than walking around Hogwarts corridors at night time. And she would definitely have Draco with her rather than Cormac! At least Hermione was certain the walk back to her dorm would be in silence.

She still had trouble with walking by herself at night in Hogwarts, after the War. She would still see the pale faces of those who'd died…Remus and Tonks and Fred. The school had kindly put up a large memorial at the entrance to the Great Hall, in memory of those who had bravely died. She just couldn't believe it was all last year, that Voldemort truly was gone.

When they reached Hermione's dorm, she wanted to say thank you but Draco was already walking away. Scowling to herself she entered her dorm and prepared herself for Cormac's unwanted attention.

* * *

><p>"So detention with Malfoy was…okay?" Ginny double checked at breakfast the next few days.<p>

Both Ginny and Hermione had been bombarded with so much homework since it was N.E.W.T's year that the two had barely time to talk, which was why Ginny was so behind on the latest gossip. Thankfully, it was a Saturday so it was a break for everyone.

Hermione took a long sip of her water before nodding. "Yes, Gin. It was fine."

Actually, it was so far from 'fine' but she didn't want to admit that. She didn't want to have the conversation with Ginny, Hermione was sure she would turn it into something much more serious than it actually was. Ginny inherited that trait from her mother.

Ginny narrowed her eyes. "Okay."

Ron and Harry entered the Great Hall, Ron – who looked rather tired – sat opposite Hermione and Harry sat in between Ginny and Hermione. He gave her a long kiss that made Hermione blush and look away, Ron being the nosy idiot that he was, pulled a face.

"Can you please not molest my sister near food? Come on!"

They laughed and pulled away from each other but Harry kept his arm around Ginny.

"So what time are Quidditch trials again?" Ginny asked Harry, who was still Gryffindor Quidditch Captain. Harry bit into his toast before answering.

"At 11 love."

Hermione giggle. "Uh, Harry, it's 10:45."

Harry choked on his drink and looked at the clock, he cursed under his breath. "Bugger! Uh okay, got to run then." He gave Ginny a hasty kiss. "Sorry love, I'll see you at tryouts. Come on Ron," Harry urged and dragged Ron away, who had a piece of bacon hanging out of his mouth.

"Ey! I ain't finished yet!"

People laughed at the scene the two guys caused, as they argued on the way out. Ginny looked at Hermione with a twinkle in her eye. "Let's go get ready for the tryouts."

* * *

><p>When the two girls reached the Quidditch pitch an unexpected thing happened, Madame Hooch had split the field in half. One half was used by the Gryffindor's whilst the other by the Slytherin's.<p>

Hermione looked at Ginny with a worried expression. "This is not going to end well."

Ginny mounted her broom and joined the others in the air, who were gathered in a circle. Hermione had taken to seating on the highest level of the stands to get a good view. She tried to see who the Slytherin Captain was but she couldn't quite make out who it was. Hermione was positive it was someone in her year and not in Ginny's; she'd heard it from Seamus Finnegan who's heard it from a Ravenclaw that it was an 8th year (Those re-taking their 7th year were referred to as the 8th year). She spotted Blaise though. He was lounging handsomely on his broom, some girls who had come to watch the tryouts were ogling him with dazzled eyes.

Blaise and Hermione had talked about Quidditch before. He was appalled that she'd never realised his position on the team in previous games, she didn't understand why guys got so angry when girls didn't pay attention to their sport. Blaise had practically drummed into her mind that he was Chaser, making sure she wouldn't forget.

Harry, Ginny and Ron flew over to Hermione. She felt a stab of envy towards the three of them, she'd always wanted to be able to fly a broom but she was deathly afraid of heights. She miserably failed Flying Lessons in their first year, Madame Hooch had said she was faint hearted when it came to heights and she didn't have a good enough argument to disagree. Harry and Ginny had tried to teach her during one of their many stays at The Burrow during the Summer Holidays, but it always ended with Hermione being on the verge of hexing both of them.

"Can you still hold the tryouts?" Hermione asked. "Or will you need to reschedule?"

Harry shook his head. "Can't, there's so many people who are trying out for the team since so many are re-doing their 7th year at Hogwarts that there isn't enough time for each house till the season starts."

Ron rolled his eyes. "Says Madame Hooch, honestly, the woman is a batty old cow. Who on earth would put Slytherin's and Gryffindor's on the same pitch during tryouts? That's like dangling a bloody fly in front of a spider."

"Do you even know who the Slytherin Captain is?" Hermione asked curiously. Just then a streak of blonde flashed across the pitch, all four of them sucked in sharp breaths. Draco had flown over to the four, his broom slick and expensive looking like most of his belongings. All four pairs of eyes zeroed in on the shiny 'Captain' badge that hung proudly on Draco's toned chest.

Ron looked positively furious. "Malfoy? _You're_ the Slytherin Captain?"

Draco curled his lip into a menacing grin. "That's right; I'm Captain this year and I'm going to put a team together that can beat yours with their eyes shut, Weasley."

Harry glared at Draco. "Funny, coming from the bloke who bought his way in. How'd you get Captain? Threw in a few galleons to Hooch?"

Ginny gave Draco a hard stare but she was holding Harry back; she didn't want him to get into trouble. Harry has had enough trouble to last him several lifetimes.

Draco rolled his eyes. "I should be offended by your lack of belief in my Captain status. I was offered the position because I'm a worthy candidate, and no, I didn't buy my way in Potter."

Hermione swallowed, her throat becoming thick. If Draco was the new Slytherin Captain then it means that he's allowed to use the Prefect bathroom, great. Not only did she have to avoid Cormac but Draco now too! Would she ever get any peace?

Ron snorted rudely. "You, worthy? Last time I remember, you crushed your balls and lost to us, Malfoy," Ron recalled their second year when Draco was the new Slytherin Seeker. Harry unconsciously squeezed his legs in a protective manner as he too remembered the moment.

"That was a _long_ time ago Weasel-bee, I have improved believe it or not. And all I have to say is, may the best team win," and Draco flew back to the Slytherin half. Ginny blinked dazedly.

"Did I see sportsmanship from Malfoy? My god, he didn't even insult anyone. Not even 'mione, what's gotten into him?" Ginny voiced out loud what everyone was thinking.

Hermione had thought the exact same thing some time ago at the Lake but he'd proved her wrong at their Potion's class, now she was all up for insulting Draco. Then again, he had said he was tired of arguing with Harry and Ron. Continuously fighting to be the best, maybe _that_ statement was true.

She sniffed indignantly, who cares if he does want to stop arguing? He was still a dick who made it clear he didn't want to speak to her. She didn't need anyone like him in her life, Hermione had her friends, her family and her books. She didn't need a guy who has issues with her 'blood'.

The thing was, Hermione had trouble convincing herself that she didn't need someone like Draco. _Why am I even thinking of this? He didn't want to talk to me in Potions, he's made it clear he wants nothing to do with me. He walked me to my dorm out of pure courtesy, not because he was any feelings for me._

"Who cares?" Hermione piped up. "He's still the same arrogant twat, who thinks he's better than everyone else because of his Pureblood status. Besides, he has a terrible habit of dragging people down with him in detentions."

Harry and Ron gave her strange looks, but they kept their opinions to themselves. Hermione continued with her speech, she looked at her friends dressed in their Quidditch robes.

"Go show those 'good for nothing Slytherin's' how a _real_ Quidditch team plays," Hermione said with a loud clap of her hands. The three flew away casting odd looks back at Hermione; Ginny leaned in to her brother.

"Is she alright? She's acting a bit…different," Ginny asked. Ron shrugged.

"Don't really know what's happening to her. You think she needs to go to the Hospital Wing?" Ron answered in a worried tone, Ginny shook her head.

"Oh, I'm not saying it's a bad thing. It's just, this year she seems…occupied. And not with her studies for a change. Like she's avoiding something but she's not telling me what she is avoiding."

* * *

><p>Blaise saw Hermione sitting on the stands and he grinned when she waved at him discreetly, he gave her a wave back. Draco flew beside him and raised his brows.<p>

"Who you waving to?"

Blaise moved his arm back down to his side. "No one, just stretching my arm that's all. Why'd you go to the Gryffindor's?" he asked, making sure to put enough venom in his voice.

"Just making sure they know what's coming for them. Potter and Weasley have no idea how much I've improved since Second Year, being a Death Eater allowed me to improve certain skills."

Blaise arched a brow at how Draco openly admitted he was a former Death Eater. "What about Granger? Did she have anything…confusing to say?"

Draco felt disgruntled at Blaise's question for some reason, a feeling bubbled at the pit of his stomach. He didn't know why but he didn't like how Blaise inquired after Hermione. Draco shouldn't even care but he did, he was starting to think the whole 'ignore Hermione Granger' plan was a little on the dumb side. It was obvious that he _couldn't_ ignore her, the two managed to stray into the other's life even if they hadn't mean to!

However, he was going to try his best to.

"Nothing, she stayed quiet actually," Draco replied after a long moment of thinking. He was quite disappointed, he'd expected her to at least congratulate him. Then again, he was the reason she'd received a detention from Slughorn the other night. The thought made him smile to himself.

Blaise sighed sadly. He was hoping she'd said something to Draco so he could use it against her during their rounds to tease her.

Draco stared at him for a few seconds before calling his team to attention; he was going to put a good team together this year. He was going to make sure that Slytherin would take the Quidditch Cup and not the Gryffindor's this year, he was sick of Gryffindor getting the cup _every_ year.

"Right, everyone get into a line!" Draco bellowed, and he was pleased to see that they followed him immediately. "First of all, thank you for coming to tryout. I'd like to say that even if you were on the team last year it doesn't mean you'll get an immediate position this year, everyone has a fair tryout and the decisions made will be based on everyone's performance today."

People were whispering amongst themselves at Draco's words.

"Is he really the son of a former Death Eater?"

"He's changed since the War has ended, not so much of the twat that he was."

"Do you think he's faking this whole 'nice' act?"

Draco felt a large lump build in his throat at that last statement. Was he being nice? He didn't think he'd changed that much since the end of the War, yes; he didn't insult people all the time. Yes, he'd stopped putting people down if they were poor or Muggle-born and rarely thought about people's family background anymore. Yes, he was trying to put his past behind him. Never once though did it cross his mind that he was being nice, no one had ever told him he was nice. Apart from Pansy of course and she meant it in a completely different context.

It kind of hurt though, to think that some thought he was faking it. He didn't know he was being 'nice' in the first place!

People were seeing him in a new light, and he didn't know whether to be pleased or angry. Did he want people to perceive him in a different way? His gaze wavered off to the Gryffindor half of the pitch, to the stands where a girl sat with a book in her lap. He had to grin at that, only Hermione Granger would think to come to a Quidditch tryout and bring a book!

"Urm, Draco?" Blaise called, nudging him lightly. Draco was pulled out of his thoughts and cleared his throat.

"Oh right, sorry. First, I'd like those trying out for Chasers to line up over here. The others, you can sit and rest for a moment. Or warm up if you wish."

* * *

><p>Ron on the other half of the pitch was watching Draco with hate filled eyes.<p>

"Look at him prance around like he owns the place. It's pathetic," Ron said to Harry, who rolled his eyes.

"He _is_ Slytherin's Quidditch Captain Ron; he kind of does own the team."

"Can't think what convinced Hooch to give Malfoy Captain, can't she see he's a slimey git with rubbish hair?"

"That was a desperate blow, Ron. Even for you," Ginny commented. "Look, let's stop hating Malfoy and get on with _our_ tryouts. God, you two are worse than a pair of gossiping fourth year girls. Besides, almost all the girls at this school think Malfoy has nice hair."

Harry crossly crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Oh really? Are you one of those girls?"

"No, I only have eye for _your_ hair," Ginny said with a small role of her eyes. Nonetheless, it satisfied Harry and their own tryout's began.

* * *

><p>Hermione clapped her hands eagerly as Ginny dived and stole the Quaffle from a guy twice her size, she swivelled in an elegant circle and aimed to shoot at a hoop. She let her arm swing forcefully and the Quaffle whizzed towards Ron who saved it just in time. Ginny stuck her tongue out at him.<p>

Hermione honestly didn't know if she was cheering for Ron or Ginny. Let's just say her friends, which was the safest thing to say since it didn't show any favouritism. She couldn't help but notice how good a Quidditch Captain Harry was, half of the people who tried out were only there to get a glimpse of the famous Harry Potter but he just gave them all a polite and kind smile, patient with all their questions that never seemed to end. Some even asked for his autograph!

Hermione giggled when she saw Ginny pull Harry away from a girl who had hugged him. Harry was a true leader, people listened to him and people obeyed him. He respected everyone and what they had to say. It was quite amazing to watch.

She couldn't help but sneak a peek at the Slytherin half of the pitch, she saw that for once, the Slytherin's were conducted in an orderly fashion rather than the chaotic mess their tryout's or practices usually were. All thanks to…Draco Malfoy. Hermione watched as he flew over to a girl who had been accidentally hit by a Beater's bat on the arm, Draco rubbed her arm before escorting her down to the ground and asked if someone could take her to Madame Pomfrey.

Draco then calmly ordered those who were trying out to be beater's to be more careful, and they all chorused a loud 'yes Captain' back. Hermione couldn't believe what she was seeing, though Draco was unbelievably rich and of Pureblood descent, people always found him to be a bastard. No one had liked him in the previous years and had only been friends with him because it saved them from being the target of his insulting jibes, now; they all seemed to follow him like people followed Harry. Though not as reverently as some of Harry's newfound followers but it was more or less on the same track.

"Didn't your parents ever tell you that it was rude to stare?" a voice said from…above?

Hermione looked up and saw Blaise hovering over her head, she gasped and glared at him before shutting her book.

"Are you trying to get me killed Zabini? Ron will hex us into oblivion if he finds out you're here!"

Blaise snorted. "Weasel-bee is busy, as are the rest of the 'oh so charming Gryffindor's'. By the way, I can whoop Weasley's ass in a duel with a eyes shut and hands tied around my back."

Hermione punched his leg, hurting herself more than him but she had to admit that he was right. The Gryffindor's were flying with fierce concentration, she wasn't so sure about the duel comment though. They were perhaps on the same skill level when it came to a duel. Hermione smiled.

"At least they take the game seriously and win us the Cup."

"I do take Quidditch seriously!" Blaise yelped in protest. "And if you must know, I've been a consistent member of the Slytherin Quidditch team. What does that say, Granger?"

Hermione laughed. "Don't you mean a consistent _reserved_ member of the Slytherin Quidditch team?"

Blaise glared at her. "You really know how to knock a guy's ego, Granger."

Hermione rolled her eyes and flicked her hair over her shoulders. "I only learn from the best, Zabini."

"And by the best do you mean me?" questioned Blaise, flashing he his signature smirk. Hermione couldn't help but notice that Blaise's smirks were different from Draco's, Blaise looked charming and handsome whereas Draco's were sexy and alluring.

"Hermione?"

Hermione gasped and jumped violently in her seat, Blaise geared his broom off to the Slytherin half of the pitch, and luckily he was well out of sight when Ginny Weasley made her way over.

"Y-Yes?"

"I made the team again!" Ginny announced excitedly after a long pause, Hermione clapped and hugged her friend tightly. She let out a sigh of relief.

_Thank god Ginny didn't see Blaise! _

"Oh my gosh, Gin! That's amazing; I knew you would get into the team. You're one of the best Chasers we have!"

Ginny blushed but kept her calm demeanour. "Thanks but there are some pretty good newcomers this year too. See those two guys over there?"

Ginny pointed to a guy with dark sandy blonde hair. "That's Christopher Middleton, he's in my year. And if I wasn't dating Harry, I'd seriously jump the guy's bones."

Hermione swatted her arm. "Gin! Don't you have any shame?"

"I'm a Weasley, of course I don't," Ginny said as a matter-of fact, as if her surname explained her behaviour. "And the guy with the really blonde hair is Connor Darvil. Kind of like Malfoy's hair, though not _that_ blonde."

Hermione did recognise Connor, he was in her History of Magic class and he was known as the 'class clown'. In a way, Connor reminded her of George Weasley but Connor never played pranks. He was more of a smart arse talker, pranks were too 'time consuming' in his mind.

"Yeah I know him; I didn't know Darvil played Quidditch."

"Me neither, he'd never come to a single tryout in the past. Apparently, he only came today because he was dared to. Pissed Ron right off but Darvil's a pretty good Chaser, so Harry put him on the team. You should have seen Ron's face when Darvil made the team."

Hermione watched as Ron grumpily tossed the Quaffle to Connor's waiting arms, she had to snigger. All Weasley's had a terrible temper.

"Well, at least McLaggen didn't try out this year," Hermione reasoned. "He said something about focusing on his studies?"

Ginny grinned. "You know he's only saying that to impress you."

"Well it isn't working, he's got the brains of a chicken! Last night, he kept going on about he knew all these spells…they were from 'Standard Book of Spells – First Years'," Hermione exclaimed. She'd read the book before she even began her first year at Hogwarts.

"Not all of us are geniuses 'mione," Ginny said teasingly. "We should be done soon, Ron's the Keeper. Darvil, Middleton and I are the Chasers. Harry's the seeker so we only need to find two beaters, mind waiting for another 30 minutes?"

"Yeah, I don't mind. I have my book if I get bored," Hermione assured her as she raised her large, bulky Library book.

"Don't let Ron see you have that out here, he'd go mental," Ginny warned before she flew away.

* * *

><p>"Where did you go?" Draco asked Blaise as he flew to his side.<p>

"Just around, so are we done today? Got the team sorted?"

Draco shook his head. "Almost, I just need to see these last two 4th years trying out for the Keeper positions. Then it's a wrap for today."

A solid 30 minutes had gone by and Draco had chosen his team for this year, and he was glad with his choices.

Blaise, a girl named Melina West and a guy named George Porter were the three chasers. Blaise was fast and agile, Melina had a good right arm and George's aim was impeccable.

The two beaters were Blake Lockyer and Kurt Goot, both had good aim and neither had fouled during tryouts. A quality that impressed Draco, since Slytherin beaters were famously known for fouling.

Keeker was a dainty but unbelievably quick Evie Northwood, Evie had saved all the Quaffle's thrown her way with a graceful ease that assured her a position in the new Slytherin team.

Draco sighed contently and turned his head to see that the Gryffindor's were all heading back towards the castle, some to the Changing Rooms. Draco cleared his throat, gathering everyone's attention.

"Congratulations to those who made the team. To those who didn't…"

Everyone seemed to hold their breath, waiting for him to come out with a snide comment.

"I'm sorry, everyone was brilliant. I wish I could have everyone on the team, but there is always next year. I encourage everyone to try out again; don't let this be the end of your Quidditch dream. Please support us at our next game, against Ravenclaw."

People whispered in shock at his words but all bustled in to the Changing Rooms.

"What?" Draco asked pointedly as Blaise gave him a look that said 'wtf'. "Why does everyone look like I've got a wart on my face or something?"

"Nothing mate, just…weird seeing you all soppy, is all."

Draco grinned. "Shut it and get change, not too late to revoke the Chaser title."

* * *

><p>Hermione was walking to the Changing Room's with Ginny, who stopped suddenly.<p>

"Shit, I left my cloak at the Quidditch hoops. I'll go get it."

Hermione however, blocked her way. "No, I can go get it for you. You still need to shower and change."

Ginny stared at her. "Are you sure? I can go-…"

"I'm sure, Gin," Hermione said with a role of her eyes. "Go and get yourself a warm shower and changed. Where was your cloak again?"

"At the Quidditch hoops."

Ginny watched Hermione walk back towards the pitch with curious eyes.

"You coming love?" Harry asked, taking her hand into his. Ginny blinked and gave him a loving smile.

"Yeah, I am."

* * *

><p>Hermione was met by a cold breeze as she spotted the bright red cloak hanging on the highest Quidditch hoop. Hermione grumbled.<p>

"Trust bloody Ginny Weasley to leave it on the highest one."

She crossed the pitch and took out her wand, summoning the cloak to her but it didn't move.

"_Accio Cloak,_" Hermione tried again but the result was the same. "For goodness sake," Hermione hissed. She wasn't used to failing, in any situation.

Suddenly she heard a 'woosh' sound behind her; she turned around quickly to see Draco Malfoy circle the pitch with an admirable speed. He looked good on his broom, his blonde hair whipped back handsomely. A look of concentration masked his handsome face, his blue eyes were focused.

That was when Hermione saw the speck of gold flitting wildly in the air, it was then that Hermione realised it was the snitch.

"Of course you idiot, Malfoy's the Slytherin Seeker," said Hermione quietly to herself. She even slapped her forehead lightly for being forgetful. She turned her attention back to the unmoving cloak and she frowned.

Hermione chewed her bottom lip, only thinking of one solution to her problem. Clearing her throat, she began waving her arms in the air like a lunatic on crack. Draco smirked as he saw the bushy haired girl trying to get his attention; he pretended to ignore her and flew past her. He was deliberately slowing down to irk her.

Hermione growled low in her throat. "For fuck sake! DRACO MALFOY!"

Draco laughed at her loud shriek, oddly liking how his name sounded when it was being screamed by her. An unintended image of entered his mind. Him and Hermione in an abandoned classroom, heavy breathing and her shouting his name in a breathy exclamation of pleasure…

"Malfoy?"

Draco swallowed before composing himself to be more relaxed and cold, as he flew over to her side. "What do you want Granger?"

"Can you get that cloak for me?"

Draco snorted at her sharp voice. "What's the magic word Granger?"

"I've tried a Summoning Charm but the cloak probably has an-..."

"No, not that magic word. The one that begins with a 'P' and ends with an 'E'."

She really didn't want to say it but she knew better, she was polite regardless who the person was. Damn her Muggle parents for teaching her to be so polite!

"Fine," she said haughtily, refusing to meet his gaze. "Will you get the cloak for me… please?"

Draco didn't move an inch. "Say it nicely Granger, you're hurting my feelings here."

Hermione let out a frustrated scream. "JUST GET THE EFFING CLOAK MALFOY!"

If Draco had been on the ground he would have jumped back in surprise, he'd never seen Hermione so irritated before or shout so loud. It amused him that he was the reason for her distress; he got to see a different side to her.

"Alright, calm down. Keep your hair on, no need to shout," said Draco. He flew to the Quidditch hoops and fetched the cloak and when he handed it to Hermione she snatched it out of his hands.

"I'll be off then," Hermione said indifferently and began to walk away but Draco cleared his throat for a good 5 seconds and hovered next to her.

_Violence is bad, violence is bad_. Hermione chanted in her thoughts before turning around to face him again.

"What?"

"Don't I get a thank you?" Draco asked incredulously. "I went through all that trouble and I don't even get a 'thank you Draco, you are the best'."

"It was hardly any trouble at all, I would have done it myself but I don't have a broom and the summoning charm didn't work. And you are _not_ the best," Hermione said heatedly. She prayed she wasn't blushing…too much; Draco Malfoy certainly _was_ the best in terms of looks and how many girls were dying to do him.

Draco should have been insulted but he was enjoying this far more than he should have, he loved seeing the fire in Hermione's eyes when she was angry and as sick as this sounds, he found her insanely hot when she was pissed off.

He shrugged calmly. "Okay, I'm just going to go to the Gryffindor Common Room later then."

"Why?" Hermione questioned, her lips pressed into a thin line.

"Going to talk to the female Weasley of course." Draco said it as if it was the most obvious thing on the planet. "You know, to tell her that _I_ was the one who got her cloak back so she'd _thank_ me. I guess I might see you later Granger."

Hermione breathed in sharply, if Ron found out his sister's cloak was touched by Draco Malfoy, Ron would rip Draco's throat out and burn the cloak. It would be an overreaction of course but given the two's history, it was understandable. Plus, Harry and Ron would give her stick for asking for Draco's help in the first place.

"Fine! Thank you, are you happy? Thank you!"

Draco lowered himself so he was level with her eyes, he leaned in slightly so he could stare deep into those chocolate brown eyes that were slightly dazed but still beautiful and full of intelligence.

"Say it like you mean it."

It was like she had been Imperiused, she was doing exactly what he wanted. Hermione swallowed. Her mouth suddenly dry.

"T-Thank you," she managed to stutter finally. Draco pulled back and gave her a small smile.

"Anytime Granger."

And then he flew away. Hermione's breathing was laboured as she stumbled her way towards the Gryffindor's changing rooms, wondering what the hell was happening to her heart. It was beating way too fast for its own good.

* * *

><p>"Hermione?"<p>

She looked up to see Harry looking at her curiously; he took a seat next to her.

"Oh, hi Harry."

"Are you okay? You just seem slightly dazed ever since you came back from the Quidditch pitch." Harry's dark hair was damp from his shower so it fell into his eyes, making him flick it out of the way constantly. It was distracting but it was oddly handsome, Harry was turning into quite a good looking guy now that he'd stopped stressing all night about Voldemort. Also, since Harry had got his own flat, he was able to eat properly rather than the measly portions he had gotten when living with the Dursley's. He'd gained weight but all the Quidditch training had turned it into toned muscles, Hermione knew Harry had a faint six pack…she'd seen it herself and had heard countless accounts from Ginny.

"I-I'm fine, just a bit exhausted you know?" Hermione could have slapped herself. Here she was sitting next to the Quidditch Captain who'd flown for hours whilst she sat on the stands reading her book, yeah…she was knackered.

"Hey," Ginny greeted them both as she towel dried her hair. Harry decided to leave the two girls alone to talk, he gave Ginny a quick kiss before heading out to find Ron. Ginny took Harry's seat.

"Here's your cloak." Hermione handed it to her but she pulled it away at the last second. "You know, you could have told me you'd put an anti-summoning charm on the damn thing!"

"Sorry, it's just when Quidditch robes are summoned, you never know if you get your own one or someone else's. I don't know why they don't put a distinction charm on the robes. Anyway, I put an anti-summoning charm on it so no one else gets my Robes, but you got it didn't you?"

"Yeah, with bloody great difficulty," Hermione mumbled like a 5 year old child in a strop. Ginny smirked.

"And was the 'great difficulty' asking some hot Slytherin to help you?"

* * *

><p><em><strong>This is a VERY long chapter, to make up for not updating in a while! The chapters to get progressively longer, let me know if you prefer longer or shorter chapters! Because then I can change it :) <strong>_

_**I am sorry for not updating, I've been busy but I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Please, please, please let me know what you think by giving me a review! **_

_**Love strawberrys13 x**_


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